Digital Chasers
by EmD23
Summary: 02Tamers crossover.It has been 2 years since BelialVamdemon's fall. The Digital World has been peaceful, but an ancient evil has been awakened. The Digidestined rise up to the challenge, but their power won't be enough. DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue

Digital Chasers Prologue: The Wolf and the Vampire 

_The Digital World is full of legends. Some of these legends have happy endings, and others end with misery. However, there is one legend that has no ending, a legend that hasn't been completely told yet. This is the legend of the Dark Crests: Cowardice, Solitude, Hatred, Ignorance, Deceit, Despair, Selfishness, Darkness, Woes, and Undependability. This legend talks of a digimon whose dark side got the better of him. His selfishness brought the death of the only family he had. In the end, he and his dark side clashed, and they both died. However, the legend says that that wasn't the end of the story…_

Infinity Mountain, 6 years ago 

The wind blew fiercely across the tall, hulking form of Infinity Mountain. Down below, Primary Village was just a speck in the ground. The wind howled and the clouds across the night sky moved quickly, revealing the full moon.

A lone figure stood on top of Infinity Mountain. This figure was a short Virus digimon. It had gray skin, which was covered with a coat of black fur. The black fur had silver stripes going across it. The fur covered the head, arms, and back of the digimon, leaving the legs and belly exposed. It had short, powerful-looking legs, small fangs, and a weird sign in its abdomen. Atop it's forehead laid a black horn about a foot tall. The digimon's eyes were a chilling red. This was BlackGabumon, the viral cousin of Matt's partner.

BlackGabumon stared silently at the sky, unmoving. His red eyes scanned it for any sign of movement. Then his nose picked up the scent. Floating in the sky was a carriage being pulled by two Devidramon. BlackGabumon smiled in satisfaction as he began to glow.

"**_BLACKGABUMON WARP-DIGIVOLVE TOOO…BLACKMETALGARURUMON!"_**

The figure that stood where BlackGabumon once stood bore a striking resemblance to MetalGarurumon. However, all that had once been blue was now black, and everything that had been yellow was now gray. The Mega wolf jumped down quickly until he reached the bottom then took off after the carriage. He stopped at the ocean but quickly got on a raft he had built days ago for this moment. He got on it and faced the back. He opened his mouth and cried out, "COCYTUS BREATH!" He shot the blue blast at an angle. The force of the blast sent the raft towards the ocean at an amazing speed. The Digimon had obviously been practicing. He followed the carriage into the continent of Server, eagerly waiting until he had a little 'chat' with Vamdemon.

Meanwhile, in the carriage sat a human-like figure. He was to be the older kids' most cunning villain of all. Vamdemon sat in the carriage, looking at the single stone he held in his hand. The vampire studied it. '_After waiting for so long, I can finally use the power in this stone to revive the most feared villain of all, and he will be under my complete command!' _ The thought of it made him smile with glee. The digimon spoken of in legends, the one who had brought utter destruction to the Digital World, the one who had surpassed even the legendary Milleniummon and his evolved forms practically rested on his palm. Vamdemon loved the feeling of having complete power. His eyes scanned the horizon until he spotted his castle. He had to make haste, seeing as how the Chosen would arrive on his territory in a day or two. Vamdemon entered the castle and immediately headed for his laboratory. Vamdemon sat down and began his work.

**Outside of Vamdemon's castle, 6 years ago, 8:00 P.M.**

The entrance to Vamdemon's castle was heavily guarded. Two Devidramon sat on each side of the front gate, and the castle courtyard was full of Champion Digimon. Most Digimon would have a tough time getting in, but BlackMetalGarurumon wasn't most Digimon. He quietly sneaked in the shadows of the castle, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. His muscles were like coiled springs, ready to bounce as soon as he pleased. Then a cloud covered the moon, and BlackMetalGarurumon struck. He leaped forward and yelled, "Garuru Tomahawk!" Sections of his armor opened to reveal powerful missiles, which struck the two Devidramon deleting them on the spot. The dark Mega scoffed. "Not even a challenge." He walked into the castle.

As soon as he walked in, 100 Numemon, 10 Frigimon, and, to his surprise, 5 Andromon surrounded him. They all stared at him, unmoving. Then a small Digimon descended in front of the wolf. It was blue, with short wings. '_Looks like a treat.'_ The Digimon spoke. "Ha, you thought you could sneak in here didn't cha? No one gets past DemiDevimon!" The small creature rose to the sky and said, "You're surrounded, so just give up so you can die nicely." BlackMetalGarurumon chuckled. Then he burst out laughing. DemiDevimon looked slightly put out.

"You fool! Do you know who I am? I am one of the _Original _Digidestined's most powerful foes! You think a small bunch of losers like you can stop me?" DemiDevimon quickly responded.

"As powerful as you are, you're surrounded. We've won!"

BlackMetalGarurumon smirked. "Actually, I win. Garuru Tomahawk!" The missiles burst from his body before anyone could react. Soon the field was covered with smoke, and the sound of pained yells could be heard. When the smoke cleared, there were only two figures standing. BlackMetalGarurumon quickly pinned DemiDevimon to the ground. "Now listen. You're going to tell Vampy that I know what he's up to and that I'll be there in ten minutes. You're my messenger, Now go." DemiDevimon scrambled to the lab, and BlackMetalGarurumon smiled.

**Vamdemon's Laboratory, 6 years Ago, 8:05 P.M.**

Vamdemon sat one of the chairs, typing information into a gigantic computer. By his side there was small Digimon. The Digimon resembled a cat. It had white fur with purple at the tip of each ear. It had two gloves, which were yellow with small orange stripes and black claws. It had blue eyes and a long tail that had white and purple stripes going across it, with a purple tuff of hair at the tip. On its tail it had a small golden ring. It was Gatomon, the soon to be partner of Kari Kamiya. Gatomon watched silently as Vamdemon continued to work on the screen, putting data into it. She glanced to the left, where a machine was being powered by that rare stone that supposedly held ITS data. Gatomon gave a short chuckle at the though of such a mighty Digimon trapped in a stupid rock. Then, DemiDevimon burst into the lab. The cat gave him a searching look as the bat tried to catch his breath. However, Vamdemon did more than just look. "I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO BE DISTURBED! YOU'D BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR BEING HERE!" DemiDevimon slightly cowered from the Ultimate's rage.

"I do have good reason," he quickly said. After giving him the message, DemiDevimon saw something he thought he'd never see. A frightened Vamdemon. Gatomon was also surprised at her master's fear.

"Gatomon, DemiDevimon, listen closely to what I am about to tell you," Vamdemon said. They both listened carefully. "Gatomon, I want you to charge up that machine that boosts the power of a Digimon and shoot it at me as soon as it's ready. DemiDevimon, I want you to set up the shields around the main computer room. If I don't come back, I want you two to take command of the army and proceed as planned. Do I make myself clear?" Gatomon and DemiDevimon nodded, although Gatomon was thinking. _'Why would Vamdemon hint that he might be defeated? The guy can't be THAT tough.'_ As if to crush her opinion she heard an explosion three floors down. DemiDevimon put up the shields, and Gatomon started to load the Power Beam. Vamdemon stood outside the lab's main computer room entrance, just out of the shield. Then Gatomon heard a chuckle.

"Well, if it isn't Vamp." BlackMetalGarurumon had arrived. Vamdemon readied his power, and Gatomon looked at the Power Beam anxiously. The wolf circled Vamdemon slowly. "You've got the stone don't you. The one with its data?" He glanced at the machine being powered by the stone. "Are you planning to bring DarkTroymon back? You know he's MUCH to powerful for even the Guardian Beasts to control." Vamdemon said nothing, just readied himself. "As big of a bad guy as I am, I know if he is released, then we're all doomed, and I can't allow that to happen." BlackMetalGarurumon growled. "Cocytus Breath! " The blast aimed for the machine, but the shields stopped it. Vamdemon whipped out his whip.

"Crimson Lightning!" The whip struck BlackMetalGarurumon but the Mega didn't even flinch.

"Cocytus Breath!" The blast struck Vamdemon, and the Ultimate felt like he was on the verge of deletion already. He was facing an opponent whose power rivaled that of BelialVamdemon. He knew the only chance was to get powered up by the beam. He looked to his left and saw a yellow beam come to him. His body bulged from the power boost, and he readied himself again.

"Grisly Wing!" Bats much larger than usual surrounded the wolf. " Crimson Lightning!" He slammed the red whip in BlackMetalGarurumon's face. The wolf broke free and attacked.

"GARURU TOMAHAWK!" The missiles broke through the barrier and struck the Power Beam, as well as Vamdemon. The demon fell back against the machines surrounding the main computer and gasped as BlackMetalGarurumon SLAMMED his paw against Vamdemon's ribs. Then the wolf opened his mouth and bit the Ultimate, sending waves of pain through his body. BlackMetalGarurumon tossed Vamdemon around the room like a rag doll, all the while questioning him. "Why do you plan on bringing DarkTroymon back?" Vamdemon snorted through his pain.

"First of all, I don't think that concerns you, secon-GACK!" Vamdemon's breath escaped his lungs due to a powerful slam from BlackMetalGarurumon.

"You were saying?"

"If I die to those Chosen, which I won't, he'll destroy the world I couldn't rule." BlackMetalGarurumon snorted and tossed Vamdemon against the machine that held the stone. Vamdemon gasped as the Mega advanced on him. Gatomon and DemiDevimon watched on helplessly. Then the stone glowed and shot out a dark beam, which struck BlackMetalGarurumon squarely in the forehead. The wolf let out a pained howl before he, to everyone's shock, burst into data. Then the data was sucked into a dark vortex, which immediately sealed after it absorbed every piece. Vamdemon stared at the stone for a second before letting out a laugh. "Fool. Never mess with DarkTroymon." He looked at the stone. "Soon, very, very soon." Vamdemon sat down on the computer and continued typing, all while Gatomon stared silently at the powerful stone.

A/N: Well, there's the first part of Digital Chaser, I know it's not much but it will get better. Review please.


	2. Dreams and Bad News

A/N: Wow. It's been a long time. Took me a while to get this chapter out but I finally did it!

Ages:

Daisuke, Hikari, Takeru-14

Miyako, Ken-15

Iori-11

Taichi, Yamato, Sora-17

Mimi, Koushiro-16

Jyou-18

_CHAPTER 1: DREAMS AND BAD NEWS_

**????, Digital World. Time unknown.**

_The rain fell hard, and the dark clouds above cast a gloomy shadow over the land. A small figure walked quickly, followed by a slightly larger one. The two figures were scanning the area, trying to find something. Suddenly, the taller of the two shouted, "I found it!" The figure was a gray rabbit that stood on two legs. It had red eyes and long claws that looked sharp. It had a bracelet of sorts on its long tail and it's belly was covered with white fur. It was a Gazimon, and it seemed excited. "We've hit the jackpot, Gotsumon!" The other figure, a Digimon whose body was completely made out of rock, grinned._

"_Great! Let's go in!" The two stared at a small trapdoor, which was camouflaged by the dirt. Gazimon reached up and tried to open the door, but there was a lock on it. He looked at Gotsumon._

"_What now?"_

"_Blast it open, genius."_

"_Oh right." Gazimon aimed at the lock. "Electric Stun Blast!" The attack broke the lock easily. "I thought it would be harder to break than that. I mean, there are supposed to be very valuable things hidden here. Vamdemon wasn't stupid, he should have put a stronger lock." His companion rolled his eyes._

"_Why are you complaining? It just makes easier to steal everything." Gotsumon pulled open the door and jumped inside. The rabbit wasn't very convinced, but he knew that if he didn't go down there he wasn't gonna get anything that they found. He followed his companion in and stared in awe at what he saw. The room was filled with gold and gems, among other valuable looking treasures. Gotsumon was already piling stuff into a bag. "Look at all this stuff! We're gonna be filthy rich!" Gazimon started to put the gold into his bag when he noticed something._

"_Hey what's that?" He pointed at a pedestal. On top of the pedestal laid a black, shiny stone. The two mons approached it, and Gotsumon picked up the stone._

"_I don't know, but it seems pretty worthless." He threw the stone aside and looked back at the gold. However, before he could do anything, a screen that neither of them had noticed on the wall flickered on._

"_Hello," said the face of Vamdemon. Gotsumon and Gazimon looked at the screen in horror. The Digidestined had killed Vamdemon two years ago, so they had no idea what was going on. "I assume that some impudent whelp or a band of thieves has broken into my treasure room. You must feel very proud, but I assure you that your mind will change very quickly. This room was protected by a very weak lock, but I'm fairly certain that whoever is in here was idiotic enough not to give it any thought." Vamdemon laughed as Gazimon glared at Gotsumon. "The reason that this room is so unprotected is that I was hoping someone would actually break in here. You see, this video shall only activate when the black stone is removed from its pedestal. The pedestal acted as a sort of lock, sealing whatever is in that stone inside. However, since the stone has been removed, there is no longer anything preventing the stone from unleashing its power. I would tell you to go ahead and tell everyone in the Digital World that you have doomed them all, but I can't, seeing as how you won't make it out of this room alive. Goodbye, and good luck." The last thing that the two Digimon saw on the screen before it turned off was the vampire's laughing face._

_Gazimon turned around to look at the stone, and was terrified to see that it was no longer there. He felt a chill down his spine. "Gotsumon, I think we should leave. Now." He turned around and to his eternal surprise saw that Gotsumon was no longer there. "Gotsumon?" There was no answer. He tried again. "GOTSUMON?" Still no answer. "__**GOTSUMON!" **__Then he heard it._

"_Tick tock." The voice seemed to come from everywhere, and Gazimon stayed, frozen in fear. "Is the little rabbit afraid? How sweet!" The voice was cold and filled with sadistic malice. "Are you afraid? ARE YOU?" Gazimon nodded his head. "Excellent. I love fear. How afraid are you?" The rabbit didn't reply. "Cat got your tongue? That's ok." Gazimon's whole body started to tremble. "Do you miss your friend?" Gazimon nodded his head again. "Well, I'm feeling nice so I guess I'll let you see him." Suddenly, something dropped in front of Gazimon, and when the Digimon saw what it was he screamed a blood-curling scream._

_Gotsumon's body laid in front of him. His limbs had been ripped off and there was a large hole in his stomach. However, it was made perfectly so that the Rock type would die a painful, rather slow death. His mouth moved up and down as if he was trying to say something, and finally he looked at Gazimon. "Run," he whispered, before his body burst into data. Gazimon whirled around and ran as fast as he could towards the ladder that led to the exit._

"_You're leaving already? The fun hasn't even started yet!" The voice only caused Gazimon to run faster, his legs pumping as fast as he could. He was almost there. He reached with his hand and suddenly it was sliced off by a sword that came out of nowhere. The rabbit fell back and clutched at the stump that had once been his arm. He looked around wildly but saw no one. "Come on, stick around. I promise you you'll have one HELL of a time!"_

_Suddenly he was lifted towards the ceiling by a hand that had wrapped around his throat. He began crying as the hand brought him to meet the emerald eyes of his tormentor. "Boo." Then the hand closed, and Gazimon's head was separated from his body. The head hit the ground and burst into a thousand particles._

Motomiya Apartment, Odaiba. 8:00 AM 

A young teen sat up, sweat covering his body as he awoke from a horrible nightmare. There had been a Gotsumon, a Gazimon, and those eyes. He had experienced many of those dreams over the last year. He dreamt of a being destroying Odaiba and killing everyone. However, when he woke up the only thing he could remember about the foe were his eyes. Those cold, emerald eyes. He looked at his clock and when he saw the time he completely forgot about the dream. "Shit, I'm late!" Daisuke Motomiya, goggle-wearing leader of the new Digidestined, quickly took some clothes and dashed for the bathroom. A small creature sighed as he watched his partner scramble towards the bathroom. Demiveemon chuckled.

"Some things never change."

**Takashi Apartment, Odaiba. 8:10 AM**

Takeru Takashi yawned as he picked up his hat and placed it atop his head. He hadn't gotten much sleep, considering he had been having dreams of a Digimon with cold eyes wrecking havoc all over the place. Or was it a digimon? He wasn't sure. He looked to his left and saw a small pig-like creature with wings lying on his bed. "Come on Patamon, we're gonna be late." The creature mumbled a reply. Takeru said nothing as he walked up to the unsuspecting Digimon and tugged at his wings. Patamon immediately shot up and glared at the Child of Hope.

"You know how much that annoys me," the pig said pouting. Takeru laughed.

"Sorry buddy, but it was the only way to get you up. Come on, we don't wanna be late. If we get there after Daisuke then I'll never hear the end of it from Yamato." The digimon complied, flying up to Takeru's head and landing on his hat. "Hey! You're gonna ruin it!" Patamon shrugged.

"I need my sleep, 'keru. Your hat is pretty comfortable." Takeru rolled his eyes and set off towards the door. He exited his room and looked to his left. His mother was already at the computer, typing away. Takeru gave a quick hi and bye, picked up a piece of toast, and left the apartment. As he walked down the street, he couldn't help but think about his latest dream. '_That Gazimon, and that Gotsumon. Who could have killed them so savagely? And why am I having these dreams? Is it some kind of warning?'_ As he pondered his dream, Takeru heard a voice calling out to him.

"Yo, Takeru!" It was the unmistakable voice of Daisuke Motomiya. The fiery gogglehead ran up to Takeru, Demiveemon in his hands. "Glad to see I'm not the only one that's late." The boy gave him his trademark grin.

"Don't get used to it," the blonde replied dryly. Daisuke whined.

"Why not? I always get so much heat since I'm always late. Having a 'late-buddy' would help me share of all that grief." Takeru chuckled.

"Late-buddy?" Daisuke gave him an annoyed glance.

"Yes. Never heard of that before?"

"Nope." Takeru glanced at his watch. "We are really late, you know that?"

"Yup. Doesn't matter anyway," Daisuke said, poking the sleeping Demiveemon. "Nothing's gonna happen." The teen glanced up ahead and saw the rest of the Digidestined sitting in a circle under a tree. "See, we're here." Takeru glanced up and spotted the Chosen as well. "Come on, hat-boy. Let's get there already." The two ran up and were met with the annoyed glance of a certain Child of Courage.

"What took you two so long?" Taichi Yagami had not changed much in the last two years. He was taller and his hair was wilder and bigger, but that was pretty much it. Takeru looked down, unable to come up with an excuse. After all, he _had _overslept. Daisuke, however, wasn't gonna go down that easily.

"Excuse me, Tai. I'm not the one who schedules a meeting at 7:45 in the morning the first Saturday of summer vacation." Taichi blushed and gave a quick 'shut up' obviously realizing that 7:45 wasn't the best time to schedule a meeting. The other Chosen snickered.

Yamato Ishida had not changed much either in the last 2 years. What had changed was the fame of the Teenage Wolves. They were now one of the hottest bands in Odaiba, and were pretty popular in other areas.

Sora Takenouchi had let her hair grow slightly and was watching the exchange between Taichi and Daisuke. She had been the one to suggest Taichi make the meeting early since she had tennis and she and Yamato were still together.

Koushiro Izumi had apparently kept his love for computers and technology. He had his trusty pineapple laptop with him, even though they were supposed to relax today.

Jyou Kido had finally managed to escape his exams and his father to have a day off for the reunion. Although he had gotten better at handling pressure, he was still rather nervous when it came to fighting.

Mimi Tachikawa grinned slightly as she watched Taichi and his successor argue. She had managed to get a break and had decided to come for a visit. She hadn't changed much either, except for the fact that her hair was once again pink.

Mikayo Inoue, still as fiery as ever, sat with Poromon in her arms. She didn't look too pleased either, and she was having difficulty staying awake, despite the noise around her.

Next to Miyako sat Iori Hida. The youngest Chosen, Iori had become more relaxed in the last two years. However, he was still strict, especially when it came to justice.

Hikari Yagami was the next one in the group. She had let her hair grow and was taking pictures of all the sleeping Digimon using her camera, which she had kept even after their adventure had been over. She looked up when she heard Taichi scold Takeru and Daisuke.

Finally, there was boy genius Ken Ichijouji. Ken was still the polite boy he had been 2 years ago. Him and Daisuke were practically inseparable and you could often see Daisuke in Tamachi playing soccer with him.

Daisuke gave another quick glare at his idol and sat down next to his best friend. Takeru made space for himself next to Hikari and they both greeted everyone. "Now that we're ALL here," Taichi started, looking pointedly at the two late Chosen, "we can start this meeting. Koushiro, this better be worth it, I skipped my mom's chocolate chip cheese cake, and that's about the only thing she cooks that's actually _edible._" The red-haired genius shrugged his shoulders.

"Gennai contacted me and said to get everyone together as soon as possible. Naturally, I told you to organize everything." He opened up his trusty laptop and showed them the e-mail he had received.

_Dear Koushiro,_

_I must ask you to gather up al the Digidestined and to contact me as soon as possible. There is a matter of outmost importance that I must speak with you about._

_Sincerely,_

_Gennai. _

Iori looked at the screen. "This looks serious." Yamato wasn't so sure.

"Maybe he just wants us to sort out some small scuffle between two Megas."

Koushiro quickly spoke. "Either way, we're all here so I'm going to try to contact him now." He looked at the address and replied to the e-mail. They all waited anxiously for a few minutes. Then Daisuke spoke.

"Is he gonna respond or what?" As if he had spoken the magic words, the screen flashed and Gennai's face appeared. The older Chosen recognized him but the new breed stared at the screen confused.

"Gennai?" Jyou asked, surprised. Miyako's eyes widened.

"THAT'S GENNAI?" Mikayo began stammering. "But, but, Gennai was handsome, tall, and young, and well…he's old." It was true. Gennai was no longer the young man they she had met a couple of years ago. He was once again the kind old man that the Chosen had met in their first journey. Daisuke leaned over and whispered in Ken's ear.

"Dude, he looks like a prune." Ken whispered back.

"Don't be rude. Although I wonder what happened to him." Gennai calmly waited until everyone had settled down. Then he spoke.

"Greetings, Digidestined." The Chosen greeted Gennai. Then Sora spoke.

"Gennai, what happened to you? I mean…" Gennai gave her a sad smile.

"Let's just say I ran out of Digi-vitamins." Gennai's face suddenly got serious. "I've contacted you because have bad news to give. I'm afraid I'm going to have to seal off all the Digi-ports and close all access to the Digital World." The Chosen stared at Gennai in shock. Then Hikari asked the question that everyone was wondering.

"Why?"

Gennai sighed. "I'm really sorry, but there is an urgent matter that I must attend to and I have to do this. As a result…" he took a deep breath, "I'm going to request that all Digimon go back to the Digital World." Daisuke blinked.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. You have 2 days to say goodbye." The realization of what Gennai had said hit the Chosen like a ton of bricks. The older children immediately protested.

"What about us?" Mimi cried. "Palmon is still in the Digiworld! You can't do this!" Gennai gave them a sad look.

"I'm so sorry. You can get together tomorrow and I'll gather up your Digimon so you can say goodbye via camera. I can't let them go into the Real World. I must not open the ports more than is needed." Mimi began to cry, and Taichi spoke softly.

"Gennai…why?"

The old man gave them a regretful look. "I don't want you children getting involved in this. Don't make this than harder than it already is." Daisuke immediately argued.

"But we're the Digidestined! If there's trouble in the Digital World then it's our job to fix it! What's going on?" Gennai's face hardened.

"No. This is a matter the Digidestined can't solve. Leave it to the Guardians." Before anyone could argue he spoke again. "The older children can meet here tomorrow to say their goodbyes. As for the new Digidestined, meet here in two days to send off your Digimon. Goodbye." The screen shut off before anyone could say another word. Finally, Daisuke spoke.

"What now?"

**Digital Limbo. Time unknown.**

'_Where am I? What am I doing?' _These were the thoughts of a creature as it floated in a pearly white world. The place seemed to have no end, and he was relaxed, as though he didn't have a care in the world. His mind could not focus except for those two questions. He continued to float aimlessly, but then he was suddenly jerked to the left and his mind seemed to clear up. However, he was too worried to think much. He suddenly slammed into an invisible wall and fell to the ground. He got up slowly and took in his surroundings. _'Where am I?'_ Then he noticed a door in front of him. _'That door wasn't there a few second ago!' _However, he had a sudden urge to open the door and without thinking about it he entered through. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a gigantic circular room. The floor and walls were still the same pearly white color, but he could see the walls curve. However, what really caught his attentions were the four huge red pillars The stood in the center of the room, making a cross. One had a design of a tiger going up. The other had the design of a phoenix. One had the design of a dragon, and the last had the design of a two-headed turtle. Suddenly he was startled by a voice.

"FINALLY!" He turned around and saw a Gabumon. However, this Gabumon had black fur instead of blue. "Someone to talk to! What are you in for?" He gave the Gabumon a confused look and the furry creature laughed. "You don't know where we are, do you?" He shook his head. BlackGabumon opened his mouth to explain but was stopped by a booming voice.

"Ah, there you are! I've been waiting." Suddenly a gigantic blue dragon with chains covering his body, long white hair, a big mustache, and a blue mask with little lightning designs appeared atop the pillar with the dragon designs. His eyes shot open and he recognized the newcomer.

"Azulongmon," he said. Suddenly everything came back to him. All of his memories. Arukenimon, Mummymon, the children, Oikawa, the Destiny Stones, the other Wargreymon, his sacrifice. They all ran through his head as he looked at himself. He resembled an Agumon, but his skin was not orange. It was a pitch black. He knew who he was. "I'm BlackWargreymon. Wait, no I'm not. I'm BlackAgumon." He had so many questions. He looked at Azulongmon. "Where am I? And why am I alive? I'm a Control Spire Digimon. I'm not able to be reborn!" The dragon gave a hearted chuckle.

"All in due time, my friend. As for where you are…you're in the Judgement Chamber. And soon your soul will be judged!"

**Ichijouji Apartment, Tamachi. 6:30 PM**

Ken sighed as he stared at Minomon and Demiveemon play. Daisuke was sitting in his computer chair, looking at the ceiling. After receiving the shocking news, the Chosen had hung out in the park for a while, trying to figure out what was going on. However, they had to split seeing as how they had things to do. Miyako had to help out at the store, Iori had a Kendo lesson, and Hikari and Takeru had gone somewhere. Daisuke, who had nothing important to do, decided to go to Ken's apartment in Tamachi. They had spent all afternoon playing soccer, trying to get their minds off of the inevitable. Now they were in Ken's room, doing absolutely nothing. Ken stared at Minomon again and spoke softly to Daisuke so that the Digimon wouldn't hear him. "I can't believe that I'm losing him again." Daisuke looked at his own partner for a second, and then his face formed into an expression the boy genius knew all too well. "I know that look. You're planning something." Daisuke grinned.

"You know me too well." He stood up and looked at the computer. "We are the Digidestined. We're supposed to protect the Digital World. I _know _there's something serious going on. My gut is telling me so. And I don't want to lose Demiveemon. None of us wanna lose our partners." Ken sighed, knowing he was getting himself into trouble.

"What do you want to do?"

Daisuke pulled out his D-3. "I say we find out what's going on for ourselves. As much as I respect Gennai, I'm not going to lose Demiveemon without a fight!"

Ken was skeptical. "That's not going to work. Gennai said he sealed off all the ports." Daisuke shrugged.

"It's worth a shot. You coming?" Ken gave a small smile.

"Sometimes I think you're a bad influence on me." Daisuke laughed. "Come on Minomon, we're going to the Digiworld." Minomon bounced up and landed in Ken's arm.

"What for? I don't want to go back yet! I thought we had two days!" Ken chuckled.

"No, my friend. We're going to try to find out what's going on." At these words Demiveemon's ears twitched and he looked at Daisuke.

"Are we going, Davis?" Daisuke nodded.

"Of course we are. Who am I to pass up an adventure?" Demiveemon and Minomon both cheered as the former jumped on Daisuke's head. The two Digimon began cheering.

"An adventure! An adventure!" Daisuke looked at Ken.

"You ready?" Ken nodded his head. "Let's go then!" Daisuke cheered. "Digi-port open!" They stood anxiously for a few seconds. "Digi-port open!" Nothing. "DIGI-PORT OPEN!" Daisuke sighed. "It's not opening, is it?" Ken shook his head as Demiveemon and Minomon disappointedly went back to whatever they were doing.

"I'm afraid not." Daisuke groaned and plopped back down onto Ken's chair. Ken sat on the edge of his bed and picked up a book. They went back to doing pretty much _nothing._

**Ai-Mart, Odaiba. 6:56 PM**

Miyako looked at the clock, wishing it were 7 already. _'Come on. I want my shift to be done and over with.' _She looked down and saw Poromon nibbling on a chocolate bar. Sadness immediately set in. She couldn't believe it! In two days she would never see Poromon again. The little bird seemed to be pretty down as well. She was startled when a man set down a bag of flour and she ringed I quickly. The man paid, she gave him his change, and then she looked at the clock. "Finally!" She cupped her hands and yelled, "Mantarou! It's your shift!" A couple of seconds later her brother appeared. He mumbled something and got behind the register as Miyako picked up her partner and reached over for her wallet, which she always kept under behind the counter when she had her shift.

"Hey Miyako. I'll give you $10 if you take my shift."

"No way."

Mantarou snorted. "Fine. You're just gonna call that emo kid again aren't you?" That set off Miyako's temper.

"Ken is NOT emo! And so what if I'm calling him? It's none of your business!" She stormed off without another word. Mantarou grinned as he picked up Miyako's wallet, took a twenty, and put it back in its place. The angry Chosen returned a few seconds later, retrieved her wallet, and set off again. Mantarou grinned again _'Sometimes it's just too easy!' _Then…

"**MANTAROU!"**

'_Then again, sometimes it's not.' _Mantarou got ready for Miyako's temper.

**Hida Apartment, Odaiba. 7:00 PM**

Iori lunged forward as his grandfather easily dodged the blow and struck him in the head. Iori collapsed to the ground. "Enough," said Chikara Hida as he sat down next to Iori. "Something is bothering you."

Iori looked ashamed. "Sorry grandpa. I just have a lot on my mind. But I shouldn't let it get in the way of my training." His grandfather gave a hearty chuckle.

"If you feel the need, we can stop for today ad start again tomorrow." Iori thought about the offer for a while. Then he thought of Upamon, who was in his room doing who-knows-what. He shouldn't let anything interfere with his training. However, he would make sure to spend as much time as possible with his partner tomorrow and the day he left.

"It's okay grandpa. I'll continue."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm certain." Iori took his stance, as did Chikara. _'I can't lose focus. I can't let anything distract me. Even Upamon.'_ The thought saddened him. _'I'll make it up to both of us. Nothing's going to distract me.'_ Just as he got ready to lunge he got distracted again, but this time it was not by Upamon, but by another of his friends.

"**MANTAROU!" **Iori sweatdropped.

**Yagami Apartment, Odaiba. 10:00 PM**

Hikari sighed softly as she watched Taichi mope. It was weird to see her brother so sad. Then again, who could blame him? She was just as sad as he was, if not more. Gatomon had been pretty upset as well and she had been pretty quiet the rest of the day. The Child of Light thought about what Gennai had said earlier. She thought back to BelialVamdemon's illusion. She had dreamt of a world where everyone had a Digimon and both species lived in harmony. _'That's never going to happen now.' _She sighed as she went to go get ready for bed and headed to the bathroom. She was exhausted and knew that she needed a good night's sleep. She and Takeru had gone to the mall to get their minds off of Gennai, but it hadn't worked much. She heard Takeru mumble something about a dream but when she asked, he just acted like nothing happened. Her thoughts went back to the other Chosen and how they were handling it. _'Miyako is probably heartbroken. Iori must be taking it pretty hard, but he would never show it. Daisuke is probably cooking up some hair-brained scheme and poor Ken is going to get dragged along.' _The thought made her chuckle. "Hikari?" She finished getting ready and returned to their room, where Taichi was waiting.

"Yes?" His eyes dropped and he lowly muttered. "What?"

"I said, I don't think we're ever gonna see them again." Hikari gasped. Was this stubborn Taichi talking?

"How could you say that?" He responded.

"Think about it. The Digi-ports were open which is why I was able to get into the Digiworld and help Agumon. Then we were able to see our Digimon because Daisuke and the others could open the ports. I had to wait FOUR years to see Agumon because I had no access to the Digiworld. And now Gennai is sealing the ports so that not even the D-3's will be able to open them. I think this is goodbye for real." Hikari tried to speak but she couldn't find anything to say. She glanced at Gatomon, who was listening to everything. She seemed to agree with Taichi, and Hikari felt horrible. _'I'm going to see Gatomon again! I know I am! Right?' _She couldn't convince herself.

**????, Digital World. Time unknown.**

_I was walking through a field. I could see a castle up ahead. I stood behind some rocks and looked at the front gate. Daisuke and a small purple Digimon were talking to the guards. The creature spoke indignantly. "What do you mean ya ain't gonna let us through? I should teach you some respect!" _

"_Impmon, no!" It was too late. Impmon attacked._

"_How'd ya like some Bada Boom!" The attack never quite met the guards. They were stopped by a humanoid Digimon who seemed to appear out of nowhere. He wore black pants with black boots and a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath. His left arm was robotic and in his right he carried a sword. He had snowy white hair and had gray skin. On his left eye he had an object like the one that Saiyans wore in DBZ to scan for power levels. "Well if it ain't my half-assed rip-off!" Impmon said. The newcomer laughed._

"_You never cease to amuse me Beelz, seeing as how I was born way before the first Beelzemon and your appearance is based off mine." _

"_It's DarkTroymon!" Daisuke shouted. I, from behind the rocks, finally noticed the creature's cold emerald eyes. Impmon rolled his eyes at Daisuke._

"_Really gogglehead? I would have never guessed!" Daisuke seemed annoyed at the Digimon's reply. DarkTroymon scoffed._

"_I never get tired of hearing my name. Although why I was named after a city is beyond me." Suddenly his face broke into a grin. "I see you're trying to break in! Now I can't have that." He began to remove his sword from its sheath and Impmon sprang up._

_**IMPMON WARP-DIGI-ACK!**_

_He never got to finish as DarkTroymon struck him with the hilt of his blade. The Digimon looked at Daisuke and Impmon. "I don't want to kill you just yet. However, I can't have you interfering so I'm afraid I'm going to have to roughen you up a little bit." Before either of the two could react, the evil Digimon swung his blade. "Darkside Slash!" An energy wave was shot out of the blade and aimed right at Daisuke and Impmon. I tried to shout but I couldn't. Then, just as the attack was about to strike them, everything went black._

**Takashi Apartment, Odaiba. 3:43 AM**

Takeru shot up and looked at his surroundings. _'I'm in my room.'_ He laid back down on his bed and tried to steady his breathing. _'That dream seemed so real. What does it all mean!?'_ He rolled over and looked at Patamon, who was sleeping peacefully. A small smile made its way up into his face until he remembered the earlier meeting. He couldn't believe that in 2 days his partner would be gone forever. Then he thought of DarkTroymon and his dream. Takeru groaned. _'I'm going to have trouble falling asleep.'_

* * *

A/N: The part where I described the Chosen was really awkward for me and it took me a week to write. I'm not sure what the couples are going to be. What I'm sure there will be is Daikari, Sorato(even though I like Taiora better) and Kenyako. I'm not sure who Takeru is gonna end up with. Probably Catherine if I can fit her in this story somehow. I kept on switching from Chosen to Digidestined because I can't make up my mind. And for Daikari it will probably be hints and nothing more seeing as how Daisuke and Hikari will be split for most of the story. Same with Takeru and whoever he ends up with. If you read then please be so kind as to leave a review.

I'm finally back on track.


	3. Goodbye

A/N: Chapter 2 is here! This is the big goodbye. Hopefully I won't screw it up.

DarkTroymon: I'm sure you will.

Ficmaster: Shut up.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon. And if I did then I wouldn't be writing this…

"Daisuke here! Gennai asked us to get together for an important message. Turns out he's sealing all access to the Digiworld and all of our Digimon have to go back! He wouldn't even tell us why! What's his problem anyway? Meanwhile, BlackWargreymon, now as BlackAgumon, found himself in a freaky room with a BlackGabumon, and Azulongmon showed up. He told them that they were in Limbo and they were going to be judged. And to top that off, Takeru and I have been having some pretty creepy dreams. Talk about a major headache!"

Chapter 2: Goodbye

**Judgement Chamber, Digital Limbo. Time unknown.**

BlackAgumon sighed softly. Soon after meeting Azulongmon, the dragon had left saying he had something to take care of. He was still confused with what was going on. The Digimon that had greeted him earlier was now sitting against one of the four pillars, trying to sleep. _'Should I approach him?' _He debated himself until finally his curiosity got the better of him. He approached the BlackGabumon, whose eyes were closed. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, the Digimon opened one eye and asked, "What do you want?" BlackAgumon thought of what to ask.

"I want to know where we are," he responded. BlackGabumon stood up and grinned.

"Were you not listening to what the big blue dragon said? We're in the Judgement Chamber."

"I heard what he said," BlackAgumon said, annoyed. "What I want to now is just what the Judgement Chamber is."

"Are you serious? All Digimon know about the Judgement Chamber," BlackGabumon responded, as if not believing the small dinosaur. BlackAgumon looked at him.

"I'm not like other Digimon." The furry creature grinned.

"You're right. You're either deprived, a gossip-hater, or just weird."

"Just tell me what the Judgement Chamber is," BlackAgumon said. He was starting to get annoyed with the insolent creature. BlackGabumon leaned back against the pillar while putting both of his hands behind his head.

"Alright. You know of the four Guardians right?" BlackAgumon nodded. It was one of the things he had picked up from his travels and from Azulongmon. "Well, the four losers feel like they have the right to control the lives of other Digimon. When there is a certain Digimon that they feel must be reborn, they speed up the process as they see fit." BlackAgumon looked astonished.

"They have the power to speed up rebirth?" BlackGabumon shook his head slightly.

"Not by themselves. The digignomes and the Digital World itself must cooperate. Otherwise they're powerless." BlackAgumon digested his information. He did no know what a digignome was. As if reading his mind, the storyteller spoke. "Don't worry about those pests. They apparently left the Digital World or something. No idea where they are now. All I know is that they supposedly had a hand in the matter. Anyway, there are certain Digimon that are not chosen by the Guardians, but by the digignomes and the Digital World. Normally, they are good Digimon that those two factors need for something. Sometimes, however," at this pause BlackGabumon gave another grin, "they choose us." BlackAgumon thought about his words for a second.

"What do you mean?" BlackGabumon smirked.

"This is where things get interesting. The three sides, those sides being the digignomes, the Digital World, and the Guardians, all have a say in the matter. If the Guardians feel that the Digimon in question has done something horrible, committed a sin, or just has done something that doesn't sit well with them, they bring those Digimon into the Judgement Chamber." BlackGabumon stopped for a second. "In the Judgement Chamber, the Guardians test the Digimon to see if they are worthy of being reborn and to see if they truly feel sorry for the sins they've committed. If they don't that then they inform the digignomes, who have a connection with the Digital World, and that Digimon is not reborn. Got all that?" With his story finished, BlackGabumon sat back down against the pillar and once again shut his eyes. BlackAgumon had another question.

"The Digital World is alive? It has its own mind?" The other Digimon shook his head.

"Not in the way that you're thinking. The Digital World is a mysterious thing. I don't think anyone understands it." Then his eyes opened up and he repeated a question that he had asked BlackAgumon when they first met. "What are you in for?" BlackAgumon ignored him. He didn't feel like talking anymore. The other Digimon shrugged and once again attempted to sleep.

BlackAgumon replayed everything he had heard in his head. _'Is that the reason why I was reborn?'_

**Motomiya Apartment, Odaiba. 10:52 AM**

Daisuke looked at his bowl of cereal. For the first time in a while, he was eating a small breakfast. He was getting more and more depressed as the time went on, only because he knew what was going to happen soon. He was planning on hanging out with Veemon all day today and to give him his best day ever in the Real World. He glumly moved his cereal around the bowl with his spoon. Veemon was the best thing to ever happen to him, and he didn't want to say goodbye.

Jun Motomiya frowned. Ever since his meeting in the morning her brother had been rather quiet. The depressed state he was in didn't suit him at all. She wanted to ask what was wrong but something seemed to hold her back. She bit her tongue as she once again attempted to make conversation. "Hey Dai?" Her brother looked up from his bowl and answered.

"Yeah?"

"Never mind." Why couldn't she ask him what was wrong? Did it concern the Chosen? Did he have to do something? She growled quietly in frustration. She knew why she didn't want to speak up. She was frustrated. Frustrated that she wouldn't understand, because frankly she did not understand Digimon at all. She had gotten used to Veemon and Wormmon, but apart from those two she hadn't seen the Digimon that much. She finally made up her mind. "Hey squirt." Daisuke looked annoyed and at once reverted to his old self.

"What do you want, zit-face?" Jun tried very hard not to smack her brother and succeeded.

"What's wrong?" At this Daisuke's features turned to confusion.

"Huh?" Jun sighed.

"You've been moping his yesterday and it doesn't fit you. Care to tell me what's wrong?" Daisuke seemed sort of surprised at her show of caring, and it ticked Jun off. She IS his sister, and she's supposed to care! Sure they weren't very good at showing their emotions, but she DID care, and it hurt her to see that he was surprised about it. "What are you so surprised about? Did you think that I wouldn't care if something is bothering you?" This snapped Daisuke out of his trance and he shook his head.

"No, Jun! I know you care. It's just that I'm surprised you were so straightforward. Usually you would annoy me until I yelled out all my problems at you," Daisuke said. Jun nodded in understanding. "If you really wanna know, it's Demiveemon." At this, the bearer of Courage and Friendship looked down sadly at his partner, who was stuffing himself under the table. Jun looked down at the small blue creature and seemed confused.

"What's wrong with the little guy? He seems pretty happy stuffing his face." Daisuke sighed. _'I seem to be doing that a lot lately,' _he thought to himself.

"He's leaving. Forever." Daisuke explained what had gone on at the Chosen meeting in detail, and the proceeded to eat his cereal. "I'm planning on making this his best day ever, but I have no idea what to do." He looked at his sister, who was in deep thought. _'If she's not careful she'll hurt herself.'_ Daisuke snickered to himself. Suddenly Jun spoke.

"Alright then, finish your breakfast." Daisuke gave her a questioning look. "You have nothing planned and neither do I. I'll take you around the city. The three of us can hang out and have a good time. Besides, I'm gonna miss the little guy and I wanna spend his last day here with him as well." At any other time Daisuke would have protested about hanging out with his sister the whole day, but today was different. He finished his breakfast, picked up Demiveemon, and followed Jun out the door.

"Jun?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Jun smiled.

"No problem bro."

**Takashi Apartment, 11: 52 AM**

Takeru looked as his partner flew circles around the house. The two had eaten some ice cream and Patamon had asked for seconds, then thirds, then fourths, and Takeru kept on complying. He didn't want to say no. Especially today. Now the orange Digimon was having a mini sugar rush and Takeru was waiting until the flying pig had calmed down enough to go outside. "Are you done yet?" The winged menace, who had now finished his 23rd lap around the apartment, shook his head.

"Not yet Takeru! I'm doing this until I get bored!" Takeru chuckled and sat down on his chair. He was certainly going to miss the little Digimon. They had been through so much together. When Takeru had first come to the Digital World he had been afraid of him. However, he had quickly befriended the Digimon and they had become very good friends. He protected Takeru and played with him.

Then the Devimon episode had occurred, and Takeru had watched in horror as his partner sacrificed himself to save everyone. He still had nightmares sometimes. The young boy had been crushed, and he had promised himself to take care of Patamon's digiegg, which he had. Etemon had been a tough opponent as well, but Vamdemon had been far worse. Then there was the Dark Masters fiasco. When Yamato had separated himself from the group Takeru was scared, but Patamon seemed to make it all better.

He had never seen something as amazing as MagnaAngemon defeating Piedmon and curing everyone. That was still a cherished moment. He had been brave for Hikari and he never gave up hope. This gave Angemon the power to digivolve. When Gennai had told them that it was time to say goodbye, they made a promise to see each other again, and it seemed that he wouldn't be able to keep that promise.

Four years later the new Digidestined had risen, and Takeru was able to see Patamon again. They had many more adventures (as you know) and it broke his heart to have to say goodbye again. He knew that there was a high possibility that he might not see his partner again, but he held on to the hope that he would.

Takeru was brought back to Earth by Patamon's voice. "I'm done." The small creature seemed tired and collapsed on Takeru's bed, snuggling himself with a pillow, and Takeru couldn't help but smile.

"You didn't even have that much ice cream. I'm amazed you had that much energy," he said. Patamon yawned.

"I'm always full of energy, 'keru. So, where are we going?" Takeru picked up Patamon and put him on top of his hat.

"I promised Hikari we'd meet her at the local amusement park, so that's where we're headed. You always have fun there." Patamon giggled.

"That's because those mirrors make Gatomon look fat."

**Desert, Digital World. Time Unknown.**

A lone figure stood atop the ruins of what had once been the Emperor's old base. The heat from the sun was powerful and many Digimon were trying to escape the heat by finding the slightest amount of shade. The seemingly endless sea of sand was burning as the Sun shone over the barren landscape. The lone figure scanned is surroundings and took another look at the ruins below him and gave a low whistle. "Damn, this place got _trashed_." DarkTroymon stepped down and looked at the remains of what had once been a mighty base. "Still, it could be useful." He quickly got to work. One of DarkTroymon's special talents was that he was an expert when it came to machines. He knew that in a couple of days he could rebuild this place to be even better than before. As he got to work he remembered everything that he had picked up while getting here. This Chosen business didn't worry him, and if they interfered he would destroy them after playing with them for a bit. What worried him was that he had heard that Daemon had been one of their foes. He growled silently as he thought of the red cloaked demon. He had been a nuisance back in DarkTroymon's days. Him and the rest of those pathetic Demon Lords. Only Lucemon had proven to be a challenge, and that was after absorbing the powers of his dead "brothers". He knew that Daemon was in the Dark Ocean, but he wouldn't put anything past the Demon Lord. _'I'll deal with him if he interferes.'_

Then there were the Harmonious Ones, or Sovereigns, or whatever they were calling themselves these days. He knew perfectly well that if it came down to fighting he could crush them all, but he also knew that those four always had a plan. He winced painfully as he remembered their sneak attack in the war's final battle. That had hurt, and even now he could still feel the pain on his back from the concentrated power of those four Digimon. He then remembered some of that battle. The most satisfaction he gained was snapping Wizardmon's neck. He smiled gleefully as he remembered his counter-part's face. _'Wizardmon WAS his best friend after all.'_ The enraged Troymon had charged at his evil half, and that had been his ultimate downfall. Even though both their bodies were destroyed in that battle, DarkTroymon had managed to create a small stone and store his soul inside with his last remaining energy.

"No sense thinking of the past," he muttered to himself. He had the future to look forward to now. And crushing every single Digimon before claiming the Digital World would be the highlight of his life.

DarkTroymon wiped some sweat off his forehead as he continued to work. The shadows of flying Digimon were dancing across the remains of the base, and the Digimon in question were chattering happily to themselves as they flew by. He stuck out his hand and a wrench materialized out of nowhere. _'Nice to see I haven't forgotten that nifty little trick.' _He took the pieces that had had been shattered by Paildramon's attack and concentrated. The pieces seemed to rebuild themselves as his power flowed through them. However, he wasn't rebuilding them. He was changing them as he saw fit. The pieces began to take angular shape and seemed to ft together like a puzzle. After finishing, DarkTroymon concentrated on the remains of the Emperor's base. The broken pieces shone a brilliant purple and began to morph before his very eyes. He gave a dark grin and smiled in satisfaction as the pieces fell back down, now in perfect shape. '_Soon. Very soon.'_

**Local Amusement Park Entrance, Odaiba. 3:22 PM**

The local amusement park was everything the locals could ask for. On the far right of the park there was a gigantic Ferris wheel. The wheel was white, and each cart was a different color. On the far left there was a carrousel. It was adorned with many animals and some made-up beasts. In the center of the park were the ever-famous bumper cars. And then there was the park's main attraction. It was a giant roller coaster at the far end of the park. The yellow tracks made their way around the perimeter of the park, and the ride had many twists and turns. _Lightning _was the park's most famous ride and the fastest. Topped off with a House of Mirrors and a year long haunted house, not counting all the other things it offered, the park was perfect. Daisuke grinned and stared greedily at _Lightning. _Veemon, also staring at the coaster, voiced Daisuke's thoughts. "THERE FIRST! THERE FIRST!" Chosen and partner dashed towards the Main Gate before being abruptly stopped. Jun had grabbed the back of Daisuke's shirt and then let go and also grabbed the end of Veemon's tail. This resulted in both of them falling flat on their faces.

"What was that for?" Daisuke asked, getting up and dusting himself off. Jun rolled her eyes.

"In case you've forgotten, dear brother of mine, we need tickets to get in," she said as Veemon got up and examined his horn to check that it hadn't been damaged. Daisuke groaned and slapped his forehead at his mistake. The three headed towards the ticket booth and stood in line. Soon Daisuke got bored and began playing with the ropes and poles that made the line. Veemon ignored some of the weird glances the other people in the park were giving him and focused on Daisuke. The boy was getting restless, and Veemon could tell.

"This is agony! How long have we been waiting?" Daisuke finally asked. Jun checked her watch.

"Two minutes." Daisuke looked at her as if not believing her. She shrugged her shoulders and faced the front. Then after what Daisuke felt was eternity, but what was only 10 minutes, they finally got to the front. The group made their way towards the booth and looked at the man inside. He was a fat, short little man with a balding head. He took one glance at the group, spotted Veemon, and spoke.

"No monsters allowed." Daisuke immediately protested.

"He's not a monster! He's a-" Daisuke was cut off by Jun.

"He's my little cousin. That's a costume he's wearing," the older sibling said, and Daisuke could tell the man wasn't buying it.

"Really? Then have him take it off. It looks pretty real to me." Jun seemed to freeze and Daisuke took this sign as the time to interfere.

"He can't!" The gogglehead looked at the man with the most serious and saddest eyes he could muster. "He's special. He believes a lot of things and he honestly thinks he's a monster. If we make him take it off it'll shatter his perfect little world." The Motomiya siblings both gave the man the most pathetic looks they could muster, and the man seemed to want to accept the story. But they both knew they needed one more thing to break him. At that moment, Veemon, who was oblivious to the whole conversation, spoke.

"Hey Dai. Is the Easter bunny a chocolate bunny or a real one? And what's that?" He pointed at one of the creatures in the carrousel. "It sorta looks like your grandmother's growth. You know. The one on her back. Do you think that it'll fly away? Because it looks like it has wings." After some silence, he spoke again. "Does that mean that your grandma can fly? That would be so cool! We could have a race!" It took every ounce of will in Daisuke not to slap Veemon. His naïve comments had surely given them away, and the man knew that the blue creature was a Digimon. However, the man was looking at Veemon with pity.

"What a disturbed child," he said. He ran up two tickets and gave the last one to Jun for free. "The little guy doesn't have to pay." Daisuke and Jun stared at the man dumbfounded and Veemon began pushing them towards the gate. Then, when they were out of earshot, Daisuke laughed.

"What an idiot! He believed us and we got a free ticket! He's almost as pathetic as Wallace was!" He remembered teasing Wallace horribly about his use of the word Momma. He particularly remembered his words as Wallace was making a phone call. He had said "_Momma? Momma? What kind of a man are you?" _Daisuke broke into a grin.

"The Motomiya siblings strike again!" Jun said with a grin of her own. Daisuke frowned.

"I feel kinda guilty though." Jun also had a rather guilty look on her face. Veemon stared at them.

"What are you guys talking about?" The two stared at the blue Mon and burst into laughter.

"Come on," said Jun. "Let's go have fun!" The three entered the park and Daisuke and Veemon dashed towards _Lightning._ Jun sweatdropped. She ran, weaving through the crowd as she tried to catch up with Daisuke and his partner. She accidentally ran into someone, gave a quick apology, and continued to run. She reached the _Lightning _area and doubled over, gasping. Jun glanced up as she saw someone waving at her. It was Daisuke. He motioned for her to come over and join him and Veemon. She got in the line with them and glared at her brother. "What the _hell _was that?" Daisuke whistled innocently and became interested in his D-3. Jun sighed and glanced at the line. She was in for a long wait.

Takeru thought of Patamon and Gatomon nervously. Since Digimon weren't allowed, the two creatures had snuck into the park and were now hiding in a tree near the line of the roller coaster. Hikari saw his worried expression and spoke. "Stop worrying. They'll be fine." Takeru gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"You're right. I'm worrying too much." He glanced at the coaster seats as they pulled in and excitement set in. "We're almost there!" Hikari looked at the tracks and she shifted nervously. Sensing her nerves, Takeru offered her a smile. "Come on, it's going to be fun! _Lightning_ has never broken down or anything," he said in a reassuring tone. Hikari smiled at him.

"I guess," she said. "It's times like these when I wish I had Daisuke or Taichi's courage." Takeru rolled his eyes slightly.

"It's just a roller coaster, Kari." Hikari gave him an annoyed glance.

"I know that. But it's so fast and so scary-looking!" Takeru gave an exasperated sigh and tried to make her feel better.

"So? You rode Imperialdramon, and he's like the fastest thing alive! You've fought so many Digimon and you're getting scared of a simple roller coaster?" Hikari shoved him playfully.

"It's still scary." The line moved again and Takeru noticed that they were next. The carts set off and as the next set pulled in, Hikari spoke again. "Takeru, I don't think we should-"

"Too late," Takeru said, cutting her off and pushing her onto a seat. She glared at him and he grinned in response. Sometimes torturing your best friend was fun. He pulled the over-the-shoulder restraint over her before she could get up and she had no choice but fasten her seatbelt. With a final slightly apologetic grin, Takeru pulled his own restraint on and fastened his seatbelt.

"You're just like Daisuke!" Hikari told him as the other passengers seated themselves. Takeru shook his head.

"No. I asked you if you wanted to come on and you said yes willingly. Dai picked you up, threw you over his shoulder, and forced you. It's different," he responded, to which she huffed. She knew he was right. Daisuke had pretty much kidnapped her and forced her on _Lightning. _That had been last year. The ride had closed off for slight remodeling soon after that trip.

"I only agreed because I didn't want to be left alone! And this ride wasn't as fast or had as many turns last time when Dai forced me. You think I'm happy now? And besides, I remember you laughing about it the whole time! You even helped him at the end! And-**AAHHHHH!**" Hikari never finished, because at that exact moment the coaster shot off. "**I HATE YOU TAKERU!**" Takeru cringed, as he knew that Hikari was going to kill him as soon as the ride ended. Then the coaster went through its first loop and picked up speed. _'Might as well enjoy the ride.'_

Daisuke and Veemon glared at each other defiantly. "You cheated!" Daisuke yelled.

"No I didn't!" Veemon said.

"YES!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"SHUT UP!" Both of them looked at Jun. "Dai, Veemon did NOT cheat! He chose paper _before _you chose rock. If anything, you tried to cheat and failed horribly." Daisuke stared at her with his mouth open. The people around them snickered at the gogglehead and he blushed.

"Thanks a lot Jun. You're supposed to back me up. Now everyone thinks I'm an idiot." Jun glanced at him.

"But you _were _being an idiot. You tried to cheat and failed, and you insisted that Veemon was at fault."

"I know he didn't cheat," Daisuke whispered furiously. "I was trying to trick him into saying he did. Veemon isn't exactly the smartest 'mon around." A guy who had just caught word of the argument and had noticed Veemon interrupted them both.

"Hey! No monsters allowed!" Daisuke whirled around and stared at the guy. He looked about 15, if not a bit younger. He was also very built, but this did not intimidate Daisuke at all.

"Veemon is not a monster. He's my best friend and if you have a problem with him then you have a problem with me," he said. The guy laughed rudely.

"That thing and its kind have caused more than enough damage all over the world. Damn creatures should be sent back wherever the hell they came from, or shot. Either one works for me," the guy said in a cruel tone. Daisuke felt his anger rise. By now everyone in the line that was within earshot was looking at the developing argument. "Let me get rid of him for you." The guy started advancing towards Veemon, cutting through the line. He finally reached where they where and Daisuke stepped in front of him.

"Don't you touch him," Motomiya warned. He knew that Veemon was capable of handling himself, but if the Digimon attacked then it would just make things worse. They guy cracked his knuckles, but Daisuke stood his ground. Then, to Daisuke's disgust, the guy looked at him with pity.

"I see that you've been deceived. Just move aside, it'll be over before you know it." Daisuke glared and shook his head. The guy sighed. "Okay man, you asked for it." Before Daisuke had the time to react, the guy swung and caught Daisuke right in the jaw. The gogglehead staggered backwards and Veemon made a sudden move, but Daisuke held him back. He didn't want to fight unless it was absolutely necessary. Jun was livid.

"What do you think you're doing!" The guy merely glanced at her. He made another move towards Daisuke, and Jun tried to stop him. Bad move.

"Alright bitch, get out of my way." Jun was roughly pushed aside and she fell to the ground, not expecting the guy to push her. The crowd gasped and Daisuke snapped. He swung and caught the guy right in the nose. There was a sickening crunch as the guy's nose broke. At that moment two security guards arrived and, to Daisuke's surprise, the crowd hid Veemon from view.

"Alright! Who was responsible for this!" He said, as the other one hoisted the guy up. Daisuke began raising his hand but then someone spoke.

"That guy started it! He attacked those two for no reason and the kid just defended his sister!" The crowd began to back Daisuke up. The guy was dragged away and the security guy looked at Daisuke and nodded slightly. Daisuke turned to the crowd and showed his gratitude. As he, Veemon, and Jun once again began waiting for the ride, Daisuke thought back to guy's words. _"Damn creatures should be sent back wherever the hell they came from, or shot." _Daisuke sighed softly. _'Don't worry about it. They'll be gone before you know it.'_

"Hey Dai?" Jun asked.

"Yeah?"

"How is Veemon gonna get on the ride? Digimon aren't allowed." Daisuke sweatdropped.

"I haven't thought of that yet."

Takeru grinned slightly as he watched Hikari eat her ice cream quietly. After the ride was over, the girl had decided not to talk to Takeru until he apologized. Takeru was drawing this out as long as possible, just to irritate Hikari. He stopped looking at Hikari and instead focused on a cute blonde that had walked by. Not only did Takeru like blondes, but they were also rather hard to find in Odaiba. He watched the girl as she bought an ice cream cone and sat down at a bench near his. He got up and sat down next to her, and the girl looked at him. "What do you want?" Takeru offered her his best smile.

"My name's Takeru. What's yours?" The girl blushed slightly from his smile. Takeru had that kind of effect on girls.

"Jessie." Takeru looked at her.

"You're foreign right?" She nodded her head. "Where are you from?"

"United States." Takeru nodded.

"Are you a basketball fan?" The girl looked at him and he could see that he had struck gold.

"Huge. Are you?" she responded. He grinned.

"Like it? I play it! And I'm really good too."

Hikari glared quietly at the back of Takeru's head as he continued to chat with that blonde. She knew that he was just doing this to annoy her. She sighed in defeat. Takeru wasn't going to apologize anytime soon. He was going to drag this out. She glanced at the line for _Lightning_ and spotted a head with a pair of goggles and a small blue figure. She quickly got up and began walking towards the line. Takeru noticed this and cut his conversation. "Where are you going?"

"To talk to Daisuke," she replied. Takeru looked surprised.

"He's here?" Hikari nodded her head.

"I'll just leave you two to get to know each other," she said as she began walking away. Takeru looked at her for a moment and his face broke into a grin.

"Hey Hikari?" She stopped and looked at him.

"What?"

"You talked to me." The smug expression on his face irritated her.

"I'll see you later," she snapped, annoyed. She marched towards the line and greeted Daisuke. "Hey Dai." The gogglehead turned around, surprised. When he saw her, his face broke into a huge grin and he signaled her to join him. She noticed that Jun was also there and greeted her as well as Veemon. Then she did a double take. "Veemon? What are you doing here?" Veemon shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea. I mean, I know why I'm here, but I have no clue how Daisuke got me in here." Daisuke looked at Hikari.

"Trade secret," he said. She rolled her eyes and gave him a look that would have made Miyako proud. "Okay, sheesh. Aren't you in a bad mood. I fed the ticket guy some sob story and he allowed Veemon in." Jun spoke next.

"Veemon played his part well." The blue digimon looked confused. "Hey, the line's moving pretty fast. I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Save my spot," she said. Jun walked away and Daisuke looked at Hikari.

"Wow, we're actually hanging out alone. Never thought I'd see the day," he said. Well, technically, they weren't alone, but Veemon didn't count. Hikari frowned.

"What do you mean?" Daisuke's eyes widened in horror. _'I actually said that out loud? I'm such an idiot.' _He put on his best smile.

"Nothing. It was a stupid comment, nothing more." Hikari didn't look convinced and wasn't going to let it die that easily.

"No, I want to know why-" She was cut off by Veemon. The digimon looked at her.

"Hikari, where is Gatomon?" She gave him a smile.

"She and Patamon are here. They're hiding in a tree over there," she said, pointing to a tree not too far from where they were. "As soon as Takeru's done talking with that blonde girl over there," she once again pointed, but this time to Takeru, who was still talking with Jessie, "we're going to let them come out." Daisuke looked at the blonde girl and whistled.

"Damn. She's hot," he said. Hikari groaned. "Lucky Takeru. Wish I had his looks. That girl's beautiful." Hikari tried to get his attention.

"I came here because Takeru left me for her. Don't you go gaga over her too," she told him. His eyes narrowed.

"So you only came after Takeru ditched you, huh," he said. "I'm just the consolation prize." She looked horrified.

"That's not what I meant! I only just saw you and-" Daisuke smiled.

"Relax, Kari. I was just playing with you." Hikari sighed in relief. Daisuke had accused her in such a straightforward manner that he had taken her by surprise. They had not noticed that the line had picked up speed and they continued to talk. Jun had since rejoined them and decided to bring a little problem into the light.

"Sorry to cut this conversation short," she said to them, who were talking about their old adventures, "but we still haven't figured out how we're going to sneak Veemon into the ride. And we're right there." They all turned their heads and saw that they were very close to boarding the ride. Veemon looked at them with big puppy eyes.

"I wanna ride it, Dai." Daisuke took one look at his partner's face and comforted him.

"Don't worry buddy, we're getting you in there." The line moved again and Daisuke noticed that they were now next in line. The guard seemed surprised to see Veemon with them.

"No Digimon allowed," she said. _'At least she didn't say monster,' _Daisuke noted. This might be easy. He opened his mouth to speak but the guard continued. "Save it. I'm going to miss my partner too. Just hurry up. Lane 5." Daisuke looked at her and finally noticed the digivice on her belt. Jun pushed him forward before he could say another word. The ride pulled up and Hikari spoke.

"Well, it was nice talking to you guys. I'll see you later," she said in a nervous tone. Daisuke grinned as he realized that Hikari had just noticed that she was about to ride _Lightning. _Hikari began walking away as Veemon and Jun sat down on their seats but Daisuke grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.

"Nonsense," he said, and attempted to push Hikari forward. She shook her head.

"No way. I'm not riding this again." Daisuke shrugged his shoulders and let go of her hand.

"Suit yourself." For a split second, Hikari thought that Daisuke had really let her go. Then he picked her up around the waist and put her down on one of the seats before she could even realize what had happened. He pulled down her restraint and tossed her a smile before sitting down next to her.

"I hate you," Hikari said. Daisuke looked at her.

"You know you love me," he responded with an easy smile as he put down his ownrestraint and buclked his seatbelt. Then the ride shot forward and Hikari screamed.

Takeru looked at the exit to _Lightning _impatiently. Jessie had soon left, saying that she had to find her _boyfriend_. Now Takeru was alone, except for Patamon and Gatomon. "Hey, 'keru. Here's your hat." Patamon's little hand came out from above and dropped Takeru's trademark hat on his head. The little Digimon had kept it safe while Takeru went to ride the roller coaster and hadn't had a chance to give it back until now.

"Thanks, buddy." Takeru's face immediately brightened when he saw Hikari, Daisuke, Jun, and Veemon step out. Hikari looked mad and Daisuke had a sheepish expression on his face. He motioned for Patamon and Gatomon to come out and they both did, also glad to see Veemon. Takeru and the Digimon walked up to the group. Jun spotted them first.

"Well Dai, since you've found your friends, I'm gonna go ahead and split from you guys." Daisuke nodded before speaking.

"Just don't forget that we have to leave the park at 5:30 to make the park at 6 sharp." She nodded, showing that she understood, and walked away. Daisuke turned on Takeru.

"Hey Takeru. Sorry about interrupting your date with Hikari," he said jokingly, but the two in question noticed a slight edge in his tone at the word date. Hikari looked at him amused.

"Did I detect a hint of jealousy? I thought you were over me Dai." Daisuke laughed.

"You know I am. It's just that old habits die hard I guess," he responded. Throughout the time after BelialVamdemon's defeat, Daisuke had gotten over his crush on Hikari. They all knew it, but Hikari still teased him every time he showed even the slightest hint of jealousy.

"You know we're not on a date, Dai," Takeru said. "Hikari is like my sister, it'd be weird dating her." Daisuke looked annoyed.

"I know, I know. You guys give me the same speech every time I make a joke about you two," he said in mock-anger. The three friends laughed and looked down at their Digimon when they heard a yelp. Gatomon had her claws out and was pointing them threateningly. Veemon and Patamon were cowering away from her, but they were trying to hold back their laughter.

"What did you say, Patamon?" Gatomon asked him furiously. The small pig put on a straight face and responded.

"Nothing." Gatomon shifted her eyes to Veemon.

"What were you two idiots laughing about?" Veemon gulped and looked nervously at Patamon. The other Digimon avoided his gaze and Veemon scanned the surrounding area quickly.

"Uh, we were laughing about Daisuke! His goggles are askew and he looks funny." Veemon's tone gave away the fact that he was lying and Daisuke did some damage control. He moved his goggles before Gatomon had turned to look at him.

"Oh wow. How did those get like that? Must have been the ride," he said cheerfully as he fixed his goggles. Gatomon looked at all three of them and huffed. She turned around and crossed her arms. Veemon gave Davis a look of thanks while Patamon landed on Takeru's head.

"We should go to the House of Mirrors," he whispered. He then giggled but shut up immediately when Gatomon looked at him. The three Chosen looked at each other in amusement and began to walk.

"Anyway," Takeru said, "how are you and Noriko?" Daisuke shrugged his shoulders.

"We broke up. We agreed that it wasn't working out well," he said. Hikari giggled.

"Sounds too mature for you Daisuke," she teased.

"Hey!"

"Anyway, about what you said back in the line," Hikari started, "what-"

"Isn't that Mimi over there?" Takeru interrupted her. The two of them looked to where Takeru was pointing. Sure enough, Mimi Tachikawa was standing there, looking at the House of Mirrors that was not too far ahead. Takeru opened his mouth to greet her, but Daisuke silenced him. He motioned for everyone to follow him quietly. When they were about 5 feet away, he signaled them to stop.

"Mimi?" She turned around and looked surprised. Daisuke began shifting towards her. "Mi-he-he-he-he-he-he-mi? MIMI!" Daisuke's face broke into a giant smile as Takeru and Hikari stifled their laughter.

"I knew getting you a copy of Boy Meets World was a bad idea," she said, but everyone could see the corners of her mouth twitching. The three greeted her and both Daisuke and Takeru blushed when she hugged them. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"

"We're hanging out with our Digimon since-OOF!" Daisuke started and elbow from Hikari silenced him, but Mimi had already given them a sad smile.

"I'm just killing the time. I'll call a taxi when it's time to go to the park," she told them.

"Are you here alone?" Takeru asked. She nodded her head.

"Now what would a beautiful girl like you be doing alone in an amusement park?" Daisuke asked. 'Smooth' Takeru mouthed, and Daisuke grinned. He tossed one arm around Mimi, who was blushing slightly at being called beautiful.

"Yeah," Takeru agreed, tossing his arm around her other shoulder. Hikari rolled her eyes while the Digimon looked on. The group headed off towards the House of Mirrors and entered. Daisuke looked at himself in one of the mirrors.

"Dude, I look like a pear." Everyone laughed. Daisuke's image did truly resemble a pear. Hikari noticed Veemon and Patamon whispering to themselves. Then they separated themselves from the group and ran towards a mirror on the far right. The both looked into it and laughed.

"Hey Gatomon, come here. This mirror makes you look tall! I look like ExVeemon without the wings!" Veemon said. Gatomon huffed.

"Like I'm gonna believe you. It's probably just mirror that makes me look idiotic. Not that you would change much if you looked at it," she responded. Hikari gasped while Daisuke and Takeru whistled and Mimi giggled.

"Ouch Gatomon, that hurt," he responded in a hurt tone. She sighed.

"I'm sorry Veemon."

"He's not lying," said Patamon. "I look like…well I don't know what I look like but I look tall!" They both stepped out of the way when the group reached them. Gatomon tossed them a distrusting stare and stepped in front of the mirror. Veemon and Patamon burst out laughing, Takeru snorted, Mimi and Hikari tried to stop their giggling, and Daisuke joined the Digimon in their laughter. Gatomon looked like a giant fur-ball with two little gloves sticking out of each side and a small head. The cat growled and launched herself at the two Digimon and began chasing them. The rest of the group laughed as they watched the chase. Hikari looked at the Digimon. _'I'm going to miss moments like this.'_

**Desert, Digital World. Time unknown.**

DarkTroymon smiled in outmost satisfaction as he looked at the outside of his base. The day's hard work had paid off. In what was once the center of Ken's ruined base sat a metallic castle. It was huge, with four towers extending out of each corner. Each tower had a different colored flag. The front right tower had a red flag. The front left one had a blue flag. The back left one had a yellow flag. The back right one had a green flag. The door of the castle stood about 20 feet tall, and had DT insignias on each door, courtesy of yours truly. The inside, of course, was empty, seeing as how he hadn't gotten around to building that yet. He looked once more at his base. "Ah, a place fit for me." He smirked to himself. _'Now I just have to get some Dark Water to operate this damn place. Hopefully I won't run into that blasted demon or any of those pathetic Demon Lords. If there are any left.'_ That was another power of DarkTroymon. Since he was the counterpart of THE Troymon, he had all of the latter's powers. And that included the power to open a portal to the Digital World and the Dark Ocean, not counting the Real World. DarkTroymon extended his hand and began to rip open a portal before a booming voice spoke.

"I will not allow you to taint this beautiful world with the evil from that realm!" The portal he was opening suddenly shut. DarkTroymon looked around in anger.

"Alright. Who did that?" He looked around for the source of the voice, but it seemed to come from everywhere.

"I am Oikawa, the protector of the Digital World." DarkTroymon looked around curiously.

"Oikawa huh? I've heard of you." Suddenly there was a bright light. It burned his every muscle and he screamed in pain as the unexpected force brought him to his knees. He gasped as the light continued to burn him.

"You will fall here, and you will not harm anyone." The voice of Oikawa seemed to echo from everywhere. DarkTroymon growled in frustration.

"You talk too much," the dark being said as he got up and looked around. "This was fun, but I've got a schedule to keep." He gathered up some energy and released it from his body. Dark energy poured from his body in droves and soon the light was gone, as well as the voice. He smiled at his handiwork. "Oikawa? You there?" He received no response. He noticed something the corner of his left eye. A single white butterfly was falling to the ground rapidly. It crashed onto the ground and began to twitch. DarkTroymon walked over to it. He stared at it for a second and then raised his foot. "Pathetic," he spat as he crushed the butterfly under his boot. He turned his attention back towards opening a portal to the Dark Ocean. "Now where was I?"

He raised his hand and once again a rip began to appear. However, this time there was no voice. He smirked and stepped forward, but he was once again interrupted. "You…will…not…succeed," rasped the voice of Oikawa. DarkTroymon frowned.

"Still alive, I see," he snarled. He gathered up some more energy.

"You cannot kill me. I may be too weak to stop you right now, but you will not succeed. The Guardians and the Digidestined will see to that." DarkTroymon snorted.

"We'll see about that." Without another word he stepped through the portal and closed it behind him. DarkTroymon immediately felt the chill of the Dark Ocean through his bones. He eagerly accepted that feeling. _'Wow. I haven't felt that good in ages.' _He began heading towards the Ocean, but then stopped. He sensed a presence that he hadn't sensed in a while. _'Demon Lords. Two of them.'_ He snarled in disgust and continued towards the Dark water.

"Flame Inferno!" The attack came from his right. DarkTroymon sidestepped the red stream of fire and looked wearily at his attacker. Purplish-black wings, red robe, sinister medallion, and deep icy blue eyes. Daemon hovered in front of him, his large wings flapping ever so slightly. He stared at DarkTroymon silently. Then he spoke. "Long time no see."

"Daemon," DarkTroymon said, his face betraying any emotion. The demon laughed.

"Glad to see you remember me," he said.

"It's hard to forget lying, cheating scum," DarkTroymon spat, dropping his act and showing just how much he hated the Demon Lord. "Anyway, where's the other one? I sense another Demon Lord. Leviamon." He scanned the Dark Ocean, as if expecting the crocodile-like Digimon to come out and eat him. Daemon scoffed.

"He's no longer worthy of that title," the demon said. DarkTroymon looked at him in curiosity. "Let me give you a history lesson. After the Demon Lords died in the war that _you _started," he spoke, "the Guardians tried to prevent us from being reborn in the Digital World. They tried to seal us in here. All was well for a while, but the seven of us discovered that if we gathered our power, we could rip open a portal. As you know, the Dark World is very weak in the concept of barriers. The Guardians and Huanglongmon entered this realm and tried to stop us. It was a magnificent struggle, if I do say so myself. However, we were able to defeat Huanglongmon and destroy him. The other Guardians were dismayed as their leader fell, and they attacked us savagely." Daemon sighed. "But we underestimated that blasted golden dragon. He had not completely died. He used his powers for one final attempt to seal us in this world forever. He used the power of the four Guardian Beasts to try to create a seal. However," Daemon stopped with a chuckle.

"However what?" DarkTroymon asked, intrigued by the fate of the Demon Lords.

"Huanglongmon realized that the four 'perfect' beasts that he created weren't so perfect after all. Their hearts were not only tainted with greed, but also with secret hatred towards the one whom created them. Sure, they respected him and loved him, but they were jealous of him. They wanted his powers and his stature. This darkness in their hearts corrupted his seal, and it did everything _but _seal this place. Instead, it warped the barriers. Portals ripped open, but they didn't lead to other worlds. They led to other DIMENSIONS," the demon said. "Dimensions were time moved differently, where things worked a different way. The Guardians were horrified at what their dark desires had caused. Huanglongmon told them that he forgave them and he gave them the last of his powers and ordered them to finish us off before he died. The four Beasts combined their attacks and struck us. The blast sent us all flying in different directions. We were split as some of us went into the portals, successfully separating us forever. Only Leviamon and myself were able to remain in this dimension, although I admit mine was by luck. I was sent into the dark depths of this Ocean, so I was spared the fate of the others. I do not know how Leviamon was able to escape the portals nor do I care," he said. DarkTroymon smirked at the hatred in Daemon's voice whenever he spoke of Leviamon.

"That's a wonderful story," DarkTroymon said, "but I don't see how that makes Leviamon a lesser Demon Lord than you." Daemon responded, fury in his voice.

"Do not ever compare me to that disgrace," he said with malice. DarkTroymon's eyebrows raised.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Humph," said the Demon Lord, and DarkTroymon smiled. Daemon knew he was out of his league. "Continuing. The Guardians, thinking that they had defeated all of us, left. I found Leviamon and told him that together we could revive the legacy of the Demon Lords. Then he looked at me and laughed. He said that he no longer needed the power of the Demon Lords and gave it up. The fool gave it up and threw it away like it was nothing. He reverted back to his Ultimate form, Dragomon, and named himself ruler of this world. He told me I was not worthy of being here and used the energy of the Ocean to send me back to the Digital World. I think you know the rest," Daemon said, finishing his story.

"Do you know what happened to the rest of the Demon Lords?" DarkTroymon asked.

"Since we all share a connection, I know that they all died," Daemon told him. "All of them are dead. Except for one. Dragomon, Beelzemon, and myself are all that remains of that legacy. Lucemon and Belphemon died just recently." DarkTroymon pondered that for a second and then a bizzare idea struck him.

"I say we make an alliance," he said. Daemon looked surprised. "Look here, I hate you and you hate me, but I've got a feeling we're going to need to stick together. Call it a premonition of sorts. What do you say?" He stuck out his hand. Daemon looked at it.

"Why should I join forces with you?"

"Because I can help you get revenge on the Digidestined." The offer was too tempting, and Daemon knew that he didn't have any means of getting out of the Dark Ocean by himself. He slowly took DarkTroymon's hand. _'I know you've got a hidden agenda, but your powers will be useful,' _He thought. Similar thoughts ran through DarkTroymon's head as both Digimon tried to crush each other's hand. They released the grip.

"So what do we do now?" Daemon asked as DarkTroymon gathered some water from the Dark Ocean.

"We wait," said the latter. "The Guardians have sealed everything concerning the Real World. I felt it. And they're planning on opening the ports today and tomorrow for a brief time."

"So we attack then?"

"No," said DarkTroymon. "We wait. The Chosen are needed for my plans, and we'll wait until they enter the Digital World."

"But if the Guardians seal everything then they won't!" Daemon told him.

"Trust me. I've got a feeling that the Chosen will enter sooner or later. We strike then."

"Why don't we just get them when the portals open tomorrow?"

"It won't be as fun," DarkTroymon said. "I've waited a long time to be freed. I can wait a bit a longer." Daemon still didn't understand, but he stayed silent. He just had to wait and see.

**Odaiba Park, Odaiba. 6:20 PM**

Daisuke leaned back against the lone tree that the Chosen always sat under. He had just finished saying goodbye to the older children's partners. It hurt to say goodbye and Daisuke knew that it would hurt even more tomorrow morning. He saw Takeru approach the laptop that Jyou had just stepped away from. He got up. Takeru had a serious expression on his face. The other Chosen gathered around as Takeru spoke. "Gennai, I have a question." The old man looked at Takeru.

"Make it quick," he ordered. Takeru nodded.

"What's going to happen to the partners of all the others? They aren't gathered here," Takeru said. Koushiro nodded his head.

"I was wondering the same thing."

"Well, you know that you're supposed to meet back here tomorrow at 8:45 right?" Gennai asked. The Chosen nodded. "Well, all the Digidestined around the world got an e-mail saying to stand in front of their computers at that time. The portals will open and the Digimon will return. It's that simple."

"That's not exactly the best plan," Yamato countered. "What if some of them aren't at their computers? What if they're on vacation or they decide they don't want their partners to go back?" Gennai gave him a small smile.

"The Digimon will make sure to be near a computer. Trust me. The Digital World is calling to them like a magnet. They cannot resist it," Gennai said. "The Guardians will find them one way or another. They'll return." Daisuke paled.

"Gennai! I forgot something! Gather Agumon and the rest," he said. Gennai frowned but did as he was told. "Hey guys, Ken says that he's sorry he couldn't say goodbye in person but he can't make it. He sends you all his best wishes," Daisuke told them. They nodded in understanding.

"Thanks Daisuke," Agumon said. Gennai's face appeared on the screen again.

"Time to say goodbye," he said. All of the Chosen waved at the screen, which showed the Digimon waving back. Some of the Chosen had tears in their eyes, as well as the Digimon. The screen then abruptly shut off. They all stared at it for a second longer.

"They're gone," Taichi whispered. Daisuke picked up Demiveemon and laid down near the tree, his eyes closed.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He opened one eye to find Hikari and Gatomon staring down at him.

"I'm just thinking how that's gonna be us tomorrow, you know?" Daisuke looked at the clouds rolling across the sky. "It hurts," he said. Hikari sat down next to him while Demiveemon and Gatomon joined the rest of the remaining Digimon.

"Yea," she said quietly. "Especially when it's the second time you do it." Daisuke looked at her. "That's not what I wanted to talk about though."

"What's on your mind?" Daisuke asked.

"What did you mean when you said it was a surprise to see us hanging out? We always hang out," she said. Daisuke sighed.

"It's stupid," he told her.

"No it's not. I could tell something was bothering you," she responded. Daisuke stayed quiet for a moment.

"We always hung out, you know? We played soccer and went to each other's houses and annoyed our siblings together," Daisuke said. Hikari smiled as she recalled those memories. "But then Takeru moved back, and I lost my best friend. You barely go to my games anymore, but you've only missed like one of Takeru's. And when we _do _hang out, it's usually me, you, Takeru, and Ken or Miyako. Sometimes Iori. I feel like we're not as good friends as we used to be," Daisuke finished, looking down at the ground. "I know it's stupid, but…" He left it like that. Hikari sighed.

"Look at me Dai," she said. He did, albeit reluctantly. "It's not stupid, you're right. I wasn't much of a friend to you when Takeru moved back and I'm still not being that great. I'm sorry Dai," she said. She looked so sad.

"Hey it's okay! We're still friends," Daisuke said. She smiled and got up. He followed suit. Then, to his surprise, she hugged him tightly.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise," she told him. He blushed. They were both startled by Jun.

"Come on Dai, time to go home." He followed her and took one last look at Hikari and the park. Tomorrow he was coming back, and he was sure he'd hate every second of it.

**Judgement Chamber, Digital Limbo. Time Unknown.**

BlackAgumon looked impatiently at Azulongmon's pillar. He didn't know how long he had been waiting, but he wanted some answers. Now. He glanced at his companion, who was quietly snoring against the pillar of the phoenix. BlackGabumon seemed not to care about anything. He confused BlackAgumon greatly. He didn't seem remotely happy or excited at the prospect of an early rebirth and redemption. He seemed amused by it. The Digimon in question suddenly yawned and got up. He looked at BlackAgumon and smirked. "I see I haven't missed a thing."

"No," BlackAgumon responded. He looked at the other Digimon. "Why aren't you excited at the thought of rebirth and redemption?" BlackGabumon snorted.

" 'Cause I'm getting neither." He grinned at the dinosaur.

"Why not?"

"Because I was an enemy of the Original Digidestined and I did some pretty bad stuff. I killed a lot of Digimon, tortured some, and caused a lot of destruction," BlackGabumon told the black dinosaur.

"I did the same. I killed, upset the balance of the Digital World, nearly destroyed everything, and I was also an enemy of the Digidestined, albeit another group," BlackAgumon countered. BlackGabumon looked at him amused.

"Did you feel sorry for what you did? Did you try to fix your mistakes? Did you repent?" BlackGabumon asked him.

"Yes."

"Then that's where we're different. I don't feel sorry for all the pain and suffering I caused. If I had the chance, I'd do it again." The honesty in his voice shocked BlackAgumon. Before he could say another word, a blue light lit up the room. Azulongmon descended from the ceiling and landed on his pillar, looking immensely troubled.

"You're here," BlackAgumon said.

"Finally," added his companion. The dragon looked at them.

"I've got some interesting news. Apparently, the Guardians will not test you," he said. BlackGabumon blinked.

"Say what?"

Azulongmon chuckled before saying, "Apparently, the digignomes will test you. Although you won't see them." He began to float up. "They feel that the time is not right for you to begin your tests. So you're going to sleep until the time comes." He left them before hey could protest. BlackGabumon turned to BlackAgumon.

"The hell does he mean?"

"I don't…" He didn't get to finish, because at that moment a sudden force descended upon him and he fell asleep. The last thing he saw was his companion also falling to this mysterious force.

**Odaiba Park, Odaiba. 8:45 AM**

The Chosen, all twelve of them, were once again gathered around Koushiro's laptop, staring at the wrinkled face of Gennai. "Greetings, Digidestined. I believe you know what time it is." The younger Chosen nodded their heads. "I will give you ten minutes to say your good-byes." Daisuke had stopped listening. He walked away from the group, Veemon in tow. He sat near the tree and Veemon joined him.

"I guess this is it," he said. Veemon nodded sadly.

"It is," the Digimon said. Daisuke didn't look at him.

"Remember when we fist met?" Veemon smiled as he remembered. Daisuke had freed him from the Digi-egg of Courage. He had armor-digivolved to Flamedramon and had saved Hikari.

"Of course I do. It was the best day of my life," Veemon said. He saw Daisuke flinch, but the gogglehead's gaze continued to focus ahead. "I waited my whole life for you. I don't really remember anything before I met you." Veemon stopped for a second. "But I was so happy to see you. I felt complete. Like my life finally had a purpose." Daisuke stayed quite and Veemon sighed. "Dai, are you going to look at me?"

"You're the best thing to ever happen to me," Daisuke said suddenly. Veemon looked at him in shock. "I was always sort of a loner. I never felt like I belonged anywhere. Hikari changed that. She became and my friend, just like that. But then Takeru showed up, and I wasn't there anymore." Veemon continued to listen. "When I first met you, I saw how happy you were to see me. I couldn't believe. Sure, I had a few friends, and my family loves me, but when you came out of the Digi-egg of Courage and seemed so glad to see me, it came as a shock. Then I used my courage to help you armor-digivolve. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen, you know? I was so glad to have you as a partner."

"I was happy to be your partner too, Dai," Veemon said quietly. Daisuke smiled slightly, but he refused to look at Veemon.

"Then the whole MetalGreymon incident happened. I thought that we were best friends. That I would do anything for you and you would do the same. But when you asked me if I would give my life for you, I had no answer. I felt so…confused. And the way you made me feel when you talked to me with so much disappointment in your voice. It hurt," Daisuke continued.

"I know you would do anything for me," Veemon said.

"You're my best friend Veemon," Daisuke said, and he looked at Veemon for the first since they had started talking. His eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I don't want you to go," he choked.

"Dai," Veemon said. Daisuke grabbed him a hug and Veemon hugged back. A few tears escaped Daisuke's eyes and he quickly wiped them off. They broke the hug and Daisuke gave him a smile.

"You won't be lonely, will you? You're gonna be with the rest of the Digimon," Daisuke stated.

"I won't be lonely, but I'll miss you every day," Veemon replied.

Daisuke gave a soft chuckle. "Me too buddy. What are you gonna do when you get there?" Veemon thought that over.

"I don't know. Getting a job would be so boring. There are a couple of tournaments though, in the big cities. I'll probably enter those for money. Although I may not win, seeing as how I can only go Champion." Daisuke scoffed.

"I'm sure you'll beat every joker that enters those tournaments. You'll become the biggest name in the Digital World! The toughest 'Mon around," he told Veemon enthusiastically. Veemon smiled.

"Yeah! All will fear the great ExVeemon!" They both pumped their fists in the air.

"And I'm gonna open my noodle cart," Daisuke said. "I'm going to become famous worldwide."

"I'm sure you will." Veemon nodded his head.

"Promise me something," Daisuke said. "Promise me you won't give up in whatever you want to do."

"Only if you promise not to give up on your noodle cart. The world needs good noodles," Veemon responded.

"Deal." Daisuke got up and helped Veemon to his feet. "Come on, I'm sure the others want to say goodbye." The two of tem walked back towards the older Chosen, who were huddled together.

Miyako had separated herself from the rest of the Chosen as soon as Gennai had said they had ten minutes. She had walked away from the group and sat on the grass with Hawkmon. She stayed silent as Hawkmon looked at her worriedly. "Miyako, dear, I-" Hawkmon didn't get to finish because she grabbed a hold of him.

"I don't want you to leave Hawkmon! Please don't!" Miyako cried as she squeezed Hawkmon tightly.

"Miyako…can't…breathe…" She let go of him and he gasped for air.

"Sorry," she mumbled. The girl wiped some tears from her eyes and began cleaning her glasses. "Hawkmon?"

"Yes, Miyako?" Hawkmon replied.

"Why is this happening? Why are you leaving me?" Miyako asked him.

"I'm afraid I don't know," the bird replied.

"Stupid Gennai won't tell us what's going on! What's his deal anyway?" She growled.

"I'm quite certain it's for the best," Hawkmon said softly. Miyako turned to him.

"And going away is for the best?" The bird nodded his head. Miyako sighed. "I'm being selfish and immature, aren't I?"

"No. You're upset," Hawkmon said. "It's understandable." Miyako smiled.

"You're right. I just can't believe that you're leaving. We've been through so much. It's…shocking." She was sniffling. "So many adventures, so many good memories…"

"So many Daisuke jokes," Hawkmon added. She laughed.

"Lots of those too," she agreed. She looked at the sky. "Things are going to be so different. I don't know if I could get used to it."

"You must," Hawkmon told her sadly.

"Yeah. I must," Miyako echoed. She balled her fists. "I just wish we knew what was going on! It _might _make things so much easier to understand," she said angrily. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Hawkmon thought for a second. He frowned. "No, I don't."

"I thought Digimon loved to gossip," Miyako said dryly.

"Don't look at me like that. Last time we visited the Digital World was a week ago. A lot could have happened," the bird said, offended. "Don't question my gossiping skills."

"I know," Miyako sighed. "I'm just avoiding saying goodbye. I guess I'm not being sincere with myself," she added humorlessly. She grabbed Hawkmon and pulled him into another hug. "I love you Hawkmon. I'm going to miss you so much," she half-sobbed as she began to cry.

"And I you, Miyako," the Digimon replied. They broke the hug and Miyako gave him a watery smile.

"Come on, I can't just hog you, even if you are my partner," she said in a lighter tone. "I'm sure the others want to say goodbye as well."

"Right," Hawkmon said, nodding his head.

Iori and Armadillomon stood quietly side by side. Armadillomon kept on shooting glances at Iori, who was rather quiet. "Hey, Armadillomon?" Iori asked.

"Yeah, Iori?"

"Do you have any idea what's going on in the Digital World?" The armadillo shook his head.

"Not a single clue," he replied. "But let's not worry about that. Let's think about here and now. And right now you should show me how much you love me before I go away forever," he said in a cheerful tone to lighten the mood.

"You sound happy to be leaving," Iori said with a raised eyebrow.

"I ain't happy," Armadillomon assured him.

"I know you're not," the Child of Knowledge and Reliability said. Armadillomon grinned.

"Does that mean you were trying to be sarcastic or were you trying to crack a joke?"

"I'm not sure," Iori admitted, and it caused his partner to grin even more. "Neither, I think. Just a comment." Armadillomon frowned.

"And here I was thinking you had gotten a sense of humor," the armadillo said. Iori glanced at him. "It's a joke, Iori. You know, the funny things people say to make others laugh." Iori smiled slightly.

"Your attitude is a mix of Gomamon and Tentomon."

"Is that a good thing?"

"No."

"Dang," Armadillomon said. "Things must be pretty rough if they're making us go back," he said, changing the subject. Iori nodded.

"It has to be serious. Maybe it's a new enemy or just something that has him and the Guardians worried. Either way, they're not telling us something," the boy noted. "I wonder what is so bad that they have to hide it from us." Armadillomon shrugged.

"Daisuke is right though," he said. "If it's a new evil then we should handle it. After all, we were chosen to protect the Digiworld." Iori nodded his head slightly.

"Maybe it's not the kind of evil that we think it is," Iori said. "After all, good and evil can change sides depending on your perspective. It might just be something that's troubling, but not actually evil."

"Huh? My perspective isn't that important," Armadillomon said.

"That's not what I meant," Iori said as he sweatdropped.

"Right," his partner answered with a grin. "Either way, it's a big enough problem to separate us. And it makes me downright sad," Armadillomon finished.

"Yes. I'm really going to miss you, Armadillomon," Iori said.

"I'm gonna miss you too Iori. A lot." He stopped for a second. "Is this the part where we both cry?"

"No, sorry," Iori said with a sad smile. "Grandpa told me to always stay strong."

"That doesn't mean you can't cry," the armadillo said.

"No, it doesn't," Iori said as a lone tear escaped his eye. Armadillomon stood on his back legs and put both of his front paws on Iori's shoulders.

"Come on, Iori," Armadillomon said. "You can do better than that."

"I don't see you crying," Iori shot back.

"I just haven't started yet," Armadillomon replied, and Iori could see the wetness of his eyes.

"Well. I don't have to cry for you to know that I'm going to miss you horribly. And you don't either. I know that you're going to be lost without me," Iori said.

"Another joke," Armadillomon smiled. He looked at the position they were in, Iori standing and him standing with both hands in the boy's shoulders. "Ya know, this was much easier when you were shorter."

"Come on, let's head back," Iori said. Armadillomon trailed behind him.

"Iori? I would be lost without you…if it wasn't for the fact you'll be with me every day." Iori smiled.

Takeru and Patamon had separated themselves from the group, much like the other younger Chosen. Currently, Patamon was lying on Takeru's hat, but this time it didn't annoy the Child of Hope. Instead, he made sure that Patamon was as comfortable as possible as he looked at his partner. "Patamon, are you comfortable?"

"As comfortable as I can be," replied the flying pig. He moved a bit and Takeru felt his hair moved under his hat by the small Digimon.

"You sure?"

"Yes, 'keru," Patamon said. He looked down at his partner. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"No," Takeru said. "How can be I be okay? You're about to leave forever and I'm never going to see you again." The Chosen Child sat down on the ground and looked up. "You're leaving in a few minutes."

"Come on 'keru," Patamon poked his forehead with a little paw, "I'm sure we're gonna see each other again." Takeru shook his head.

"Gennai says that he's closing all access, probably forever. How am going to see you if that's true?" The hat wearing Chosen looked down at the ground.

"You're supposed to be the Child of Hope! Besides, don't you want to see me again?" Patamon asked. "It's a rhetorical question," he added when Takeru opened his mouth.

"You're right. I can't give up hope. I know that I'm going to see you again. We're just too good for Gennai," Takeru responded with a small smile. "He can't keep us apart, right? We can see each other and he can't stop that." He looked up at Patamon and laughed softly. "I'm starting to sound like Daisuke, aren't I?"

"Maybe a little," Patamon responded with a slight giggle. Takeru smiled. "You're just filled with hope. Daisuke is stubborn. There's a difference," he continued.

Takeru looked back down at the ground. He had already experienced losing Patamon twice. Losing him a third time was like a nightmare come true. A nightmare that he hated with all his might. He knew that he should say more to Patamon, but the words wouldn't come out. He was having a happy conversation with Patamon when he should be saying goodbye. "I'm hopeless," he muttered.

"No you're not," Patamon said, frowning. "We just-"

"That's not what I meant," the blonde boy told him, but he couldn't stop the small smile that worked its way into his face.

"Of course. I knew that!" The pig shifted again to get comfortable. "I was just testing you 'keru."

"Of course you were."

"I was!" Patamon insisted.

"Are you ever going to admit that you were wrong?" Takeru asked his partner.

"Nope," responded the little pig with a smile that Takeru couldn't see.

"Good. It wouldn't really fit you," said the Child of Hope, fighting the tears that had gathered up as soon as the conversation had started. They were getting harder and harder to fight though, and a few escaped his eyes. He began crying quietly and Patamon felt his body shake.

"Are you crying, TK?" Patamon asked, using Takeru's nickname.

"No." Patamon descended from Takeru's head and looked at his partner's wet face. "Fine, I am," Takeru admitted. Patamon felt a few tears escape his own eyes.

"Takeru, I'm going to miss you so much," said the little flying pig as he flew into Takeru's arms.

"I'm going to miss you too, Pata" Takeru told the Digimon as he hugged him. The little pig looked up at him with his big cerulean eyes.

"Will you forget me?" Patamon asked.

"I couldn't even, if I tried," Takeru said as Patamon made his way back up onto the blonde's hat. "You've scarred me for life."

"Har har," the pig replied pouting.

Hikari and Gatomon had followed the steps of the other Chosen and had found a nice spot far away from the group. Hikari knew Gatomon didn't like expressing her emotions openly and had made sure that no one would interrupt them. She looked expectantly at the cat Digimon, but Gatomon stayed quiet. Hikari decided that she should speak first. "Remember the last time we said goodbye?" Gatomon nodded. "Remember what I gave you?" Gatomon looked away.

"I'm sorry," she said. Hikari looked confused.

"What for?"

"I lost it. I lost your whistle," Gatomon replied, looking ashamed of herself. She turned her away, for she did not want to see Hikari's disappointed expression.

"When?"

"About a day before I lost my ring. I was being chased and it slipped off my neck when I was sent flying from an attack. I know you're mad," explained the cat Digimon. Hikari grabbed Gatomon's shoulder and made her partner look directly at her.

"I'm not mad," Hikari said firmly. "You couldn't help it so don't blame yourself." She spoke in a softer tone, "Besides, you're more important than any whistle." Gatomon looked at Hikari, the tears forming in her eyes. She decided to abruptly change the subject.

"Have you felt anything weird?" Hikari frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I was wondering if you've felt anything weird," Gatomon stated, "like a dark being or just the darkness itself."

"No, I haven't felt a coming darkness or anything," Hikari said. "You think the darkness is coming?" Gatomon shrugged.

"Not really, I just thought that maybe there was an evil coming and that's why they were sealing the ports," the cat Digimon told her. Hikari smiled.

"I thought about that too, but I haven't felt anything weird or evil," the Child of Light said. They both looked at each other. "Remember our last goodbye?" Hikari asked.

Gatomon nodded and looked at her claws. "I blew your whistle before you guys left. You have no idea how sad I was."

"I can imagine," replied Hikari. She smiled at Gatomon. "Remember what we said to each other?" Gatomon smiled herself.

"Of course." Hikari opened her mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by a loud shout.

"Hikari! It's time!" Taichi shouted at her younger sister. Hikari looked at Gatomon and the cat looked back.

"I guess this is…goodbye," Gatomon said sadly. Hikari was about to respond when an idea formed in her head.

"Yeah. Till next time," said the Child of Light.

Gatomon looked at her in confusion. Then realization came to her and she smiled softly. "Next time?"

"Yep. That's right!" Hikari responded, remembering every word. Then they hugged.

"I'm really gonna miss you, Kari," whispered Gatomon as she hugged her partner.

"Me too," Hikari said. Then they headed towards the group.

Ken was sitting on the ground, Wormmon perched on his shoulder. The former emperor was gazing forward, his eyes unfocused. Wormmon was getting worried. He tried to get Ken's attention. "Ken?" There was no response. The indigo-headed Chosen seemed not to have heard him at all. The worm tried again. "Ken? Can you hear me?" Again, there was no response. "Ken, please. You're worrying me," Wormmon said. Ken seemed to snap out of his thoughts and looked at his companion.

"I'm sorry, Wormmon. Did you say something?"

"Where you thinking about something?" Wormmon asked his partner.

Ken nodded. "I was thinking about a dream I had. The one where I got infected by the Dark Spore," Ken told Wormmon. The worm looked confused.

"Why?"

"Well, it's about the boy that was with me, and the Digimon that infected the Spore on me," Ken said thoughtfully. "I've had the dream 3 days straight. Maybe my subconciousness is trying to tell me something," finished the Child of Kindness. He stared quietly forward.

Wormmon got off Ken's shoulder and nudged his leg, trying to get his partner's attention. "Let's not focus on that right now. You're supposed to be saying goodbye to me, not thinking of some dream," pleaded the worm Digimon.

Ken blinked and looked down at his partner. He picked him up on his arms and smiled. "Of course," he said. The worm looked up expectantly. "What should I say?"

"Speak from your heart," replied Wormmon.

"I already lost Sam. And I lost you once already," Ken started, "and here I am, about to lose you again." Ken looked at Wormmon straight in the eyes. "You always had hope in me. I beat you, whipped you, kicked you around, and yet you always came back to me. You never gave up on me, even after everyone else had. Not once." Wormmon saw the pain flash in Ken's eyes and snuggled up against him. Ken looked at the worm with endless gratitude.

"You pulled me back from the darkness. You were my light when everything seemed lost since Osamu died," continued the Chosen, although he choked up a bit. "When I saw you die, it was like a slap to my face. I finally realized all the pain I had caused. Watching you float into the air was one of the most painful things I've ever seen…

"And then you came back to me. And you forgave me. You forgave me for every hit, every death, and every sin I committed towards you and everyone else. Not to mention I got the Crest of Kindness. I, the Digimon Emperor, got the Crest of Kindness. I thought fate was pulling a cruel joke on me."

Wormmon snuggled himself into Ken. "There was no reason not to forgive you. I knew that it wasn't you acting as the Emperor. The Dark Spore was controlling you," he said. "I didn't know that then, but I knew it wasn't the kind young boy I had met that was acting so harshly. You _are_ kind, Ken. You deserve that crest. It's not a joke," finished Wormmon.

Ken looked at the sky as he petted Wormmon's head. "I know that now. I know that I was manipulated. That BelialVamdemon used my sadness and grief to turn me into a monster. And I have you to thank, as well as the rest of the Chosen, for forgiving and allowing me to be who I am today." Ken looked at the worm in his arms. "I love you, Wormmon. You're the best thing to ever happen to me. You brought me back from the brink of oblivion." Wormmon felt Ken's tears hit his face and he looked at his partner's wet face. "I don't want you to leave me again."

"I don't want to leave you either, Ken," said Wormmon, who could feel his own tears streaming down his face. "Promise me you won't forget me, Ken."

"I wouldn't dare," the Chosen replied. He noticed that an uncertain Daisuke was approaching them.

"It's time," Daisuke said. Ken nodded and got up, Wormmon still in his arms. The three of them headed towards the Chosen, who were gathered around Koushiro's laptop. Gennai gave a sigh of relief when he saw them arrive.

"I've kept the connection for way too long," the old man said. He looked around at the group. "I need you children to step back, and for the Digimon to step forward." They listened. In a second, Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, Patamon, Gatomon and Wormmon were standing in front of the laptop. "Good, now let me get the portal ready." They saw him type some things. The Digimon looked at their partners' faces one last time.

"You're crying," Armadillomon whispered softly when he spotted Iori's face.

"I know," replied the eleven-year-old. There was a bright blue light.

"I love you Hawkmon!" Miyako yelled as the light enveloped the 6 Digimon.

Gennai's voice reached them. "It was an honor meeting you all. Goodbye." The light subsided and the screen went dark. The Chosen were left to see the dark screen as the morning breeze blew across the park.

* * *

A/N: Finished! It took me a month, but I finished. This chapter was longer than I expected and forgive me if there was any OOCness. I'll try my hardest to get the next chapter out sooner. And I felt the goodbyes lacked emotion, but I tried my best. Thanks, and please leave a review!

Side-note: Daisuke's line to Wallace that I mentioned in the japanese version of The Golden Digimentals(which is much better). Just wanted to clear that up for people who didn't get the reference.


	4. Distress Call

Chapter 3: Distress Call

**Shinjuku Central Park, Tamers Universe. 8:32 PM**

The moon shone brightly over the night sky as the trees of Central Park moved in the breeze. Scattered leaves twirled around and the park was quiet. Mostly. In an abandoned shed, a group of kids and their Digimon were having a very serious discussion.

"That's my bread!" The cry of a childish voice broke through the night.

A red dinosaur with black markings on its arms, legs, and feet was looking at his bread. His yellow eyes stared at the creature that had taken his bread while scratching the Hazard sign on his white stomach.

The other creature in question was a small purple imp Digimon with emerald eyes, a red bandana, red gloves, and a grinning yellow face on his stomach. The dinosaur began to chase the imp around the small shed, annoying all of the other people in it. There wasn't much space for a big red dinosaur to run around after all.

"Knock it off, Guilmon," a boy with brown hair and goggles said. The dinosaur turned around.

"But Takato, Impmon took _my_ Guilmon bread!" Guilmon whined. Takato Matsuda sighed and looked at his partner.

"You have more at home, boy. Now stop. We have to discuss something important." His eyes scanned the shed for the other humans. There was a boy with an orange vest, blue hair, and gray eyes. His name was Jenrya Li.

On his left was a girl with violet eyes and a white shirt with a blue heart. Ruki Makino stared at Guilmon, clearly annoyed.

On Jenrya's right, a girl with brown hair and a green dress smiled as she held a sock puppet and spoke. "You'd better not cause any trouble, Guilmon," the puppet barked. Juri Katou leaned down and had the puppet bite Guilmon's nose, causing the Digimon to giggle.

Next to Ruki stood a boy with a visor on his head and a black shirt. On this shirt, Jyou's Crest of Reliability stood out in a brilliant yellow color. The boy was talking to the person next to him, clearly not paying attention to anything that was going on around him. His name was Hirokazu Shiota.

The person that Hirokazu was talking to was a boy with blue hair and glasses. He wore an orange shirt and a pale brown jacket over it. This boy was Kenta Kitagawa.

"Right. Is this all of us?" Takato asked. Jenrya nodded.

"Shuichon isn't coming," he said, referring to his younger sister.

Impmon spoke between mouthfuls of Guilmon bread, "Ya already know Ai and Mako ain't showing up, gogglehead."

"And pretty boy says he can't make it," Ruki finished bitterly. "He's got another interview. Show-off." At these words, Hirokazu and Kenta stopped their conversation and looked at Ruki.

"Ryo isn't coming?" Hirokazu asked.

"He has to!" Kenta added. Both boys idolized Ryo Akiyama, the Legendary Tamer. Ruki rolled her eyes.

"Is that visor cutting the circulation to your brain? I just said he's not coming. You idiots can stop crying now," she snapped rudely.

"Hey!" Kenta exclaimed, offended.

"Damn, Ruki. What the hell is your problem?" Hirokazu replied, equally as rude. Ruki gave Hirokazu a glare that could kill and began raising her fist. Takato stood between them to avoid any conflict. He chuckled nervously.

"Guys? Can we deal with this later?" Ruki glared at Hirokazu and turned around. Takato sighed in relief.

"What's her problem?" Hirokazu whispered to Takato.

"I think her mom forced her to do another photo shoot," Takato whispered back. Hirokazu nodded and decided not to flame Ruki's anger.

"Man, why'd you stop the fight?" asked a cream-colored rabbit/dog hanging off of Jenrya's shoulders. The rabbit/dog had two huge black eyes and a small horn. Its ankles, wrist, collar, and the tip of his long ears were green. Two green lines went across his ears around the middle.

"Terriermon," Jenrya warned, scolding his partner.

"Momentai," Terriermon replied. He jumped down to the ground and took the last piece of Guilmon bread just as Impmon reached for it. This caused a chain reaction, starting with Impmon immediately springing up.

"Ya lousy rabbit! That was my bread! Bada Boom!" Five small fireballs appeared on the tips of Impmon's fingers and he launched them at Terriermon. Terriermon dodged and one of the fireballs hit Guilmon in the nose. The dinosaur screamed.

"Ah! I'm on fire!" He moved frantically while patting his nose. He bumped into Takato, who gave a yelp and grabbed onto the nearest thing as he fell, which happened to be Jenrya's vest. Jenrya fell, surprised, and as he fell one of his arms pushed Ruki. Ruki fell onto Hirokazu, who fell onto Kenta. Juri stared as the Tamers tried to untangle themselves.

"Well, well, well," a voice interrupted them, but Ruki cut it off.

"Don't say anything Akiyama," Ruki hissed as she looked into the cerulean eyes of the Legendary Tamer.

"What did you do this time, Wildcat?" Ryo finished as though he had not been interrupted. He reached down and pulled Ruki up, causing all of the Tamers on the floor to untangle themselves. They all got up and greeted Ryo, who had a grin plastered on his face.

"Hey guys" he greeted. He spotted Juri and greeted her too. Then he looked down at Ruki, who he was still holding by the shoulders. "Hey, Pumpkin," he greeted cheerfully. She pulled herself away from his grip. She was about to say something but was interrupted by an angry voice.

"Mean!" Everyone looked towards Kenta, and saw MarineAngemon scolding him. Kenta was pleading with the small pink Digimon, but MarineAngemon had been woken up from a nice nap in Kenta's pocket and he wasn't about to forgive his Tamer. Ruki turned back to Ryo.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had an interview," she asked Ryo. Ryo grinned.

"I ditched it to be with my Wildcat," he joked, but the humor seemed lost on Ruki, who groaned and turned around. "Fine. I hate interviews and figured this would be more important anyway," he explained. She nodded and leaned against the wall.

"I guess I wasn't on fire after all," said the cheerful Guilmon while Takato banged his head against the wall.

"Careful, chumley. You can't afford to lose more brain cells," Hirokazu cracked.

"Look who's talking," Ruki said. Hirokazu was about to respond but decided not to.

"Guys? Aren't we supposed be discussing something important?" Juri asked. Everyone froze and they all sheepishly turned to Jenrya, who had been waiting patiently for everyone to finish what they were doing. He looked amused.

"Right. My dad says that Hypnos has found something very interesting," started Jenrya. No one missed the tiny edge to his voice when he said 'dad'. They all listened. "It's a Digimon signal, but it's the smallest they've ever seen. It seems to be too far away to even be in this planet or in the Digital World."

"You mean there's a Digimon in space?" Kenta exclaimed. Jenrya shook his head.

"The readings are so complicated that Yamaki and them don't even know where it is or what that Digimon is capable of. They think it might be in another dimension," he said. Everyone looked at him oddly. He sighed. "_Shibumi_ thinks it might be from another dimension," he admitted.

"He's usually right when it comes to these things though," Takato mused. Ruki rolled her eyes.

"Another dimension? Please," she said. Ryo gave her an amused look.

"You never know, princess," he said mysteriously. Ruki's eyebrows rose, not only because Ryo called her princess, but also because he sounded so sure when he said there might be other dimensions.

"You're hiding something," she accused. Everyone's eyes turned to the Legendary Tamer. _'Damn it! I have to be more careful,'_ thought Ryo. He had his experience of other dimensions. He remembered vividly his battle with Milleniumon and the events after it. _'I wonder how Ken is?'_ He was broken out of his thoughts by Ruki's hand making contact with his cheek in a painful slap.

"Ow!" Ryo cried.

"What are you hiding?" Ruki asked, "you zoned out so I had to slap your thick skull to wake you up."

"Couldn't keep your hands off me, Ruki?" Ryo grinned. She looked ready to pull her hair out. "I'm not hiding anything. I'm just saying," he said.

"Anyway," Jenrya said, getting everyone's attention, "this has Yamaki worried." Hirokazu frowned.

"Why? If it's in another dimension then it's not our problem."

"Think about it, Kazu," Jenrya said. "If this Digimon is in another dimension, and Hypnos can get a signal…"

"Then that's one roided-up 'Mon!" Terriermon finished. The Tamers finally understood just how powerful this Digimon was.

"Do you think it could come here?" Juri asked fearfully. Jenrya sighed.

"I hope not." Soon, discussion of this Digimon started, so no one noticed Impmon quietly slip out of the shed.

"Where are you headed, good sir?" asked Guardromon, who had been standing outside because there was no room for him in the shed. Impmon scanned the rust-colored robot.

"Nowhere, so don't worry about it ya big bucket of bolts," Impmon said. They both knew that the insult was in good nature. Impmon walked away from Guardromon and looked up at the moon. _'Another dimension.'_

"Where are you headed?" The voice startled Impmon and he fell down clutching his chest. He looked at the owner of it and spotted a tall biped fox with yellow fur.

"Ya gotta stop doing dat! You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days, Fox Face!" Impmon exclaimed. Renamon blinked.

"Sorry, Impmon. Why did you leave the shed?"

"So ya noticed," Impmon said. She nodded. He stared at her for a few seconds and then looked back at the moon from his position on the ground. "I got da feeling I ain't gonna be around much longer," he told her. Renamon sat down beside him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't know," Impmon admitted. "It's just this feeling that I'm gonna leave this place soon."

"Do you mean death?" Renamon asked.

"I don't think so," said the purple imp. "But with this talk of dimensions and stuff, it all seems to fit, ya know?" Impmon looked at Renamon. "Listen here, Foxy, ya ain't allowed to tell anyone about this. Got it?" Renamon nodded quietly.

Impmon got up and made his way back towards the shed. Renamon disappeared into the shadows. When Impmon got back to the shed, the conversation had turned in another direction.

"I could totally beat you!" Hirokazu exclaimed, and Ruki was laughing quietly to herself.

"Keep dreaming, Visor-Brain," she taunted. Impmon walked up to Guilmon, who was watching the exchange, and sat down next to him.

"What's going on, Pineapple head?" Impmon asked the red dinosaur.

"Kazu thinks he can beat Ruki in a Digimon card game," Guilmon said. Impmon snickered.

"Yeah right."

**Odaiba High School, Odaiba. 7: 42 AM**

Daisuke ran and skidded in front of a white door with a sign that read '212'. He was wearing the high school uniform that the older Chosen had used back in the day. Much like Taichi, Daisuke opted to keep his green shirt unbuttoned and wore no tie. He reached up and opened the door very quietly. He spotted the teacher with her back turned and began quietly sneaking towards his desk. A few people suppressed giggles as they saw Daisuke crawl under some desks and reach his seat. He sat down and took out some paper and a pen to make it look like he had been working the whole time. The teacher turned around. "Now, who could answer the question on the board?" she asked. Her eyes scanned the room and when she saw no volunteers she decided to pick one herself. "Mr. Motomiya?" she said as Daisuke attempted to sink below her view by sliding down on his chair. He gulped. "Uh," he said as his eyes scanned the board. He looked at the problem on the board. _2x+4y23. _"Pass?" The teacher rolled her eyes and sighed. 

"No, Mr. Motomiya." She turned around, but not before adding, "and by the way, I took attendance about 5 minutes before you came in. Next time you're trying to sneak in after being late, try to get here earlier." With that said, she turned around to pick another student. Daisuke groaned and slammed his head down on his desk as the class burst out laughing. He blushed and sank as low as he could in his chair. Daisuke felt a pat on his back and looked behind him to see Hikari. She gave him a sympathetic smile. "There, there, Dai." He gave her a weak smile.

"That's _another _detention. I swear, one more and I'm going to get suspended," he told her.

"That'd be a big surprise," they heard a sarcastic voice say. They both turned to the desk next to Hikari and spotted a grinning Takeru.

"Shut up, TQ," Daisuke grumbled, screwing up Takeru's nickname on purpose. The hat-wearing Chosen merely laughed. All three of them were silenced by a cough from the teacher, who held a stack of papers on her hand. She eyed the class.

"I am pleased to say that _most_ of you did very well. Some, however, didn't study," she said. Her yes lingered on Daisuke for a fraction of a second longer than the other students. She began walking around the classroom while delivering papers.

"Excellent job, Hikari," she said as she placed the Chosen's test on her desk.

"Thanks, Mrs. Nonaka," Hikari replied. Mrs. Nonaka merely smiled and turned to Takeru.

"Same to you, Takeru," she said, also placing his paper on the desk. Takeru gave her a quick thanks. Then she turned an eye to Daisuke.

"Here you go, Daisuke. Something to _brighten _your day," she said rather sarcastically. Daisuke looked down at his paper as the teacher walked away and groaned. There, on the right-hand corner, was a fat red F. He turned around to Takeru and Hikari, who both held A's and were smiling apologetically. He slammed his head down on his desk once again.

The rest of the class seemed to fly by for Daisuke, who merely doodled the whole time and paid absolutely no attention. He drew Veemon and some other Digimon, as well as some drawings of soccer balls before starting a new drawing. He continued to draw the whole class and would stop whenever the teacher yelled at him to pay attention. By the time the bell rung, he had drawn a body with a metallic arm. He shrugged his shoulders and threw the paper away. He went to his locker and opened it up, looking around for his science textbook before making his way to his class. He sat down and began looking out the window.

He noticed that the sky was completely cloudless. It sort of reminded him of the Digital World. His thoughts centered on Veemon. He wondered how the little guy was holding up. His Digivice often flashed at unexpected times meaning Veemon had digivolved. He had decided that Veemon must be digivolving to compete on those tournaments he had mentioned on their last day together. He sighed and looked at the front of the class and decided to pay attention. However, he was bored out of his mind in a matter of minutes. He took out a piece of paper and began to draw. When the bell rang, Daisuke glanced down at his paper. He had drawn the same figure, but this time it was much more detailed. The figure had pants with chains on them and a leather jacket with an undershirt, not to mention hair and his metallic arm. _'Odd,'_ thought Daisuke.

"Yo," he heard a voice. It was Takeru, and he was grinning.

"Hey," Daisuke greeted.

"Guess what class we have next," Takeru said in a singsong voice. Daisuke grinned. They had art next with Hikari. The class had a lot of good memories for such a short amount of the school year. Daisuke remembered fondly an incident four days ago.

Flashback

_Daisuke looked at his drawing. He had attempted to draw Takeru, who had struck a rather weird pose, all while Hikari giggled. He scanned the drawing one last time, took a look at the posing Takeru, and grinned. "All done," he said cheerfully. Takeru and Hikari immediately headed over to him and looked at it. They both blinked a couple of times before Hikari burst out laughing. Takeru's mouth was open in shock; all while Daisuke stood proudly. "Nice, right?"_

"_Pretty good," Hikari managed to choke out between laughs. Takeru turned on her, offended._

"_That is not good!" He turned to Daisuke. "What the hell were you drawing?" Daisuke blinked at Takeru's rather uncharacteristic dialogue before responding._

"_I was drawing you, dude. That's why you've been standing still like an idiot for the past 20 minutes," he said. Takeru looked at Daisuke in disbelief._

"_That's supposed to be __**me**__?" Takeru walked up to Daisuke. "That's supposed to be me?" he repeated. Daisuke nodded, confused._

"_Yeah," the gogglehead said. Takeru took one last look at his drawing._

"_My eyes are not that big! And what's wrong with my hat? I have a UFO on my head!" Takeru exclaimed._

_Daisuke scanned his drawing. "Your eyes had to be big to balance out your hat, 'keru," he explained._

"_And why is my hat so big?" Takeru asked him._

"_Well, you know how I'm supposed to draw what I see?" Daisuke started, and Takeru nodded. "Every time I see your hat I see a UFO. I mean, the thing is massive!" Hikari, who had begun to calm down, took one look at Takeru, the drawing, and the hat, and burst into another round of giggles. Takeru blushed in embarrassment._

"_My hat is not massive!" Takeru exclaimed._

"_Is too!"_

"_Is not!"_

"_Is too!"_

"_Is not!"_

"_IS TOO!"_

"_IS NOT!"_

"_Is too," Daisuke yelled, and pointed his brush at Takeru forcefully. However, it was still dripping with paint and a drop of green landed on Hikari, who was standing next to Takeru. The Child of Light blinked at the smudge of green on her nose before her eyes narrowed. "Heh, heh, sorry, Hikari," Daisuke said nervously. Takeru rolled his eyes._

"_Nice job, gogglehead," he said dryly. Daisuke looked at Takeru._

"_Shut up, Gilligan! This is all your fault anyway!" shouted the gogglehead, pointing the brush once again. The green paint flew off the brush and landed on Takeru's hat._

"_Sorry," smirked Daisuke, who didn't sound sorry at all. Takeru took off his hat calmly and inspected it. He placed it back on his head._

"_I'm sorry too," he said. Daisuke blinked in confusion._

"_For what?"_

"_For this," said the blonde before grabbing a paintbrush with black paint on it and scribbling all over Daisuke's drawing. Daisuke gasped._

"_THAT'S MY PAINTING, MAN!" he shouted furiously and dabbed at Takeru, painting a long green line on his cheek. Takeru retaliated by drawing a black line all across Daisuke's shirt. Daisuke gasped again and painted the front of Takeru's shirt. Takeru painted a streak on Daisuke's face. Soon, a brush brawl was on and the students were watching as the teacher ran over top break up the two boys. Hikari, who was with them, got in between and tried to stop to the fight. Just as she got between them, they both lunged simultaneously. The result was that Hikari's face was now green at the top and black at the bottom. They both froze, and looked at Hikari in horror._

"_I'm so sorry," said Takeru as he stared at his handiwork._

"_Hey, at least now you're proudly displaying the school colors at the pep rally," Daisuke added nervously. Before Hikari could respond to that, the teacher got to them._

End Flashback

They both laughed as they remembered the incident. They had each gotten 2 weeks of detention, which they were still serving. "Good times," Daisuke said as they both entered the Art room.

**DarkTroymon's Castle, Digital World. Time Unknown.**

Over the last for months, DarkTroymon had done the interior of his castle. The hallways were a metallic blue with windows that the moonlight shone eerily through, casting dark sinister shadows. Statues and paintings of the dark titan himself resided all over the hallways and the corners of the castle courtyard. It was in this courtyard that Daemon was strolling, contemplating his plan. He longed for the moment when he could destroy DarkTroymon and claim the Digital World. However, he was no fool. He knew that the ancient Digimon outclassed him in nearly everything by a wide range. Such was the power of the corrupt guardian of the Digital World. Daemon laughed to himself softly as yet another of Huanglongmon's mistakes surfaced.

The story of DarkTroymon was quite interesting, really. It dated back to before the birth of the Demon Lords. Back in the ancient Digital World. The wise Huanglongmon had created 4 Guardians Beasts to aid him in his quest to protect the Digital World. The 5 beings kept the Digital World safe from the biggest of threats, yet the people still complained. They told stories of grave robbers and gangs of Digimon who caused havoc and destruction. They wanted justice and peace. The four Guardians told Huanglongmon that it was not their problem and they fought only to protect the universal Digital World. They did not play sheriff for lowly Digimon peasants that couldn't keep their land safe.

However, Huanglongmon loved all Digimon as if they were his children, so he granted their wish. He created a golden boy, a Mega level Digimon that would keep them safe. The Digimon's name was Troymon. For a 100 years, all was good. Troymon would protect individuals while the Guardians took care of more serious matter. However, one day Troymon approached the Guardians and brought horrible news. A new group had made themselves known. They called themselves The Seven Great Demon Lords. The Guardians at once prepared to fight this new threat, but Troymon begged his father to let him handle them. He just needed more power, he said. Ignoring his comrades' protests, Huanglongmon gave Troymon powers that could surpass those of the other Guardians, but not himself. What could go wrong? _He _had created the boy, after all.

'_Arrogant fool,' _thought Daemon. At first, Troymon had meant well when he asked for more power. But just as everyone expected, he became corrupt. He wanted more power and asked his father for more, and more he was granted. He now rivaled the powers of Huanglongmon himself, but the great Dragon gave it no thought. Nothing could go wrong because he had created the boy after all.

Troymon did well when it came to keeping the Demon Lords at bay, but he did not defeat them on the excuse that he once again lacked the power to do so. He approached the Dragon and begged for more power. As arrogant as he was, however, Huanglongmon was no idiot. He knew that Troymon had the necessary power to defeat the Demon Lords and did not grant him more. However, he didn't see Troymon's request as an act of power-hunger, but merely as a mistake. Nothing could go wrong, he explained to the others. He had created the boy himself after all.

Troymon cursed his father's name and meandered, ignoring his duties and killing Digimon to get stronger. It was during this aimless travel that he met up with yours truly, Daemon. The red-cloaked demon offered Troymon all the power he wanted, as long as he agreed to join the Demon Lords. He eagerly accepted and was soon in the Dark Ocean, surrounded by the seven. He was suddenly launched into the Dark Water by Daemon himself. The waves crashed against his body as he felt all his strength leave him. The Demon Lords laughed at his stupidity and left him for dead. Huanglongmon found out what happened and rescued the boy, but was very disappointed. Troymon spent the next few days weeping in despair as he realized what he had become.

Meanwhile, the essence of Troymon's darkness and his powers were left in the Ocean, where the water worked its evil magic. The evil and power manifested themselves into a being, and DarkTroymon was born. The dark side of the guardian hunted the Demon Lords one by one and destroyed them in revenge, until only Daemon and Lucemon were left. He ambushed Daemon and destroyed him, but not before tearing off his wings and torturing the red-cloaked deceiver. Lucemon absorbed the powers of his fallen brothers and reached his Satan Mode, but was defeated by DarkTroymon in a hard-fought battle.

The ashamed Troymon had a connection with his evil counterpart and realized what had happened. He went to his father and asked for his power back so he could defeat DarkTroymon. Huanglongmon denied him, but Troymon insisted and said that the dragon could put him in a blood contract saying that if he ever abused his powers or used them for the wrong reasons, he could be sent to Digital Hell for eternity. He didn't want power for the sake of it. He wanted to repent. Huanglongmon agreed.

The result was the Ancient War, in which both Troys lost their lives.

Daemon noticed that had walked into the front of DarkTroymon's chamber as he remembered his accomplice's past. He pushed open the two metal doors and stepped inside. The room was nothing more than another hallway with the same metallic walls and a blue carpet that seemed to go on forever. At the far end there was a magnificent throne surrounded by four flames: One yellow, one red, one blue, and one green. The throne was empty, but Daemon wasn't surprised. DarkTroymon only sat on the throne when he kidnapped a small Digimon and interrogated or tortured him for fun. There was a small wooden door behind the throne. That's where the castle owner spent most of his time, and the room was a mystery. Daemon was not allowed in, and if he even tried he would be deleted on the spot. He waited patiently for a few minutes before DarkTroymon stepped through the door, wiping sweat from his forehead. He looked at Daemon.

"What?"

"I've been thinking," said Daemon. DarkTroymon halted him and proceeded to sit on the throne. "Any reason why you just sat on your throne?"

"Makes me feel important," the dark being replied with a grin. Daemon resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"We're going to need someone," Daemon started, "to do our dirty work for us. Get supplies, tail our enemies, the Guardians, and to boss around."

"No we don't," DarkTroymon replied, who seemed bored already.

"I have someone special in mind," continued the red-cloaked demon. "Someone that you know very well."

"Oh really?" asked DarkTroymon, not caring in the least. He was doodling on the armrest with his finger.

"He's an old friend of mine, and the person that was responsible for putting 5 bullets in your body," Daemon said with a smirk.

DarkTroymon sat up, suddenly interested. "You mean…"

"Yes," Daemon drawled. "A fellow brother, and the last remaining Demon Lord that was scattered." DarkTroymon's face was slowly getting a huge grin. "Let's pay a visit to my old friend _Beelzemon._"

**Thunder Town, Digital World. 5:33 PM**

'_Note to self,'_ thought ExVeemon as he steadied himself in midair with his great white wings, _'never do that again.'_ The mythical dragon was in the midst of a semi-final battle in the Thunder Town tournament. Every year, the small town held a tournament to see who was the strongest fighter. The winner got 10,000 digi dollars and their photo put up in the hall of fame. ExVeemon had been training since he had gotten to the DigiWorld. All of the Chosen Digimon had separated and gone their separate ways. And here he was, so close to the finals and winning that he could taste it. He looked down at his opponent.

His opponent was a large gorilla with white fur and rippling muscle. On his right arm was a cannon connected to his arm by cables and his skin was a dark gray, nearly to the point of black. It was Gorillamon.

ExVeemon knew he was in trouble. The Animal Digimon was not only very powerful, but his attribute was Data. Since ExVeemon was a vaccine, he was at a disadvantage. He had decided to charge head-on and land a powerful punch to the gorilla's face, and he gorilla had fired his cannon. ExVeemon had swerved out of the way and continued charging.

Only to be met by Gorillamon's fist.

He had been sent flying and had steadied himself with his wings. Now he was thinking of what to do. He scanned his surrounding area. They were in a small coliseum, so there really wasn't much to use. ExVeemon growled before crossing his arms and firing his attack from the sign on his chest. "V-Laser!" The orange X sped towards Gorillamon.

The other Digimon held up his cannon and steadied it with his left hand as energy began pulsing through the cables on his arm towards his cannon. "Energy Cannon!" The blast of energy collided with the orange X before disintegrating it. ExVeemon moved out of the way of the beam.

"Okay, that didn't work," he said. He decided another approach. He began circling around the Digimon and tried to look for an opening, but he couldn't find any. He swooped down and aimed for a punch but quickly dodged when Gorillamon's hand went to swat him away. He repeated this tactic over and over, dodging each time. He found an opening. "Vee Punch!" Gorillamon's head snapped back from the impact and he followed with a Vee Kick. Gorillamon staggered backwards and ExVeemon took the opportunity.

"Vee Punch. Vee Kick! Vee Punch! Vee Punch! VEE KICK!" Gorillamon wailed and slumped against the wall, nearly unconscious. ExVeemon looked happily at his handiwork as the crowd applauded him. He crossed his arms and began charging up power. "V-LASE-" He stopped in mid-shout, his eyes wide. _'No way. Was that…"_ This distraction caused him, because next thing he knew Gorillamon's hand came down and smacked him with such sheer force that for a second everything went white. Then his body crashed against the ground, leaving a small crater. However, his body bounced back up.

The last things he heard and saw before he fell unconscious were a great yell of "ENERGY CANNON!" and a charged up beam heading towards him.

**Above Thunder Town, Digital World. 5:35 PM**

DarkTroymon and Daemon soared towards the desert. Although the former had no wings, he did not need them to fly. They passed over an old little town with a coliseum, and Daemon looked down, intrigued. There were two Digimon fighting. One of them was a Gorillamon, and Daemon recognized the other one immediately. It was the partner of that spunky goggled idiot. The boy's partner charged up an attack and as he leaned back to release it, he spotted Daemon. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before Daemon soared away to catch up with DarkTroymon.

"What was that?" asked the wingless villain when Daemon caught up with him. Daemon shrugged.

"Nothing. It was one of the Chosen's partners. Nothing important," he replied. He sensed DarkTroymon's curiosity, but the Digimon didn't say anything. They continued to fly silently until they reached the desert and the remains of the Emperor's base. DarkTroymon silently stuck out his hand and ripped open a portal to the Dark Ocean. He welcomed the feeling of it, but Daemon seemed rather disgusted. They landed on the gray sand and DarkTroymon turned an eye at Daemon.

"Where?"

"There," replied Daemon, and they headed towards a rock in the northeaster section of the beach. DarkTroymon stuck out his hand.

"Yeah, I feel it. The barrier is still weak. I wonder why though? It should have sealed. I can't sense any others," DarkTroymon replied. He began charging up power, but halted. He looked at Daemon. "Do you really think this will work?"

"It should," Daemon replied. "The barrier is weak and you can tear open a portal to another world."

"This is another dimension," DarkTroymon countered. However, he gathered up power again and moved his hand. A portal was ripped, and they could see a park. There was an old shed, but that was pretty much it from what they could see. Daemon's eyes narrowed.

"He's there. I sense him," the red-cloaked demon said. He couldn't hide the slight excitement in his voice. DarkTroymon nodded.

"I do too." He gave the portal one last look and turned away. Daemon looked at him in surprise.

"You're not coming?" he asked.

"No. I have something to take care of."

"What about the portal?"

"It'll close as soon and you and Beelz step through."

"What if something else goes through it?"

"It won't," DarkTroymon said shortly. He ripped open a portal back to the Digital World and stepped through it. Daemon stared at the spot for a few seconds before looking back at the park beyond the rip.

"No matter, I'll do it myself."

**Shinjuku, Tamers Universe. 8:52 AM**

Impmon cruised and weaved through the crowds as he made his way towards Central Park. There was a hangout day for the Tamers, and Impmon wasn't about to be left out. The plan was simple. Hang out in the park, go to the beach, and then relax at Ruki's place. Basic, fun, the usual. And the best part, food. Lots and lots of food. Of course, Impmon couldn't completely stuff himself like Pineapple head. It just wasn't his thing. He'd sneak food and stuff himself later. He absentmindedly crossed the streets by jumping on top of cars, but he made sure not to dent the roofs like had had before. He finally saw the park and began heading there. As he approached Guilmon's tent, he heard the familiar sound of people laughing.

Everyone was there. Kazu and Kenta were in the middle of a serious card game, with Ryo and Ruki as spectators. Takato and Juri were rolling Shuichon around in a shopping cart and Jenrya was watching them amusedly. The Digimon were being Digimon, meaning they were stuffing themselves. Except for Renamon, Guardromon and Cyberdramon of course. The great dragon leaned against a tree and growled softly every now and then. Renamon was eating slowly, and Guardromon was just standing there. Impmon strolled towards Renamon.

"Hey there, Fox Face." Renamon looked at the small imp.

"Hello Impmon," she said pleasantly. He grinned at her and watched the rest of the Tamers.

"Look at Pineapple Head! He's gonna end up eating MarineAngemon!" Impmon laughed as he watched Guilmon stuff himself with everything he could find. Not before smudging it in peanut butter of course.

"He is rather…" Renamon couldn't find the right words. She didn't have to, because at that moment Cyberdramon let out a vicious roar. Everyone's head turned towards him and Ryo produced his D-Ark from his pocket. Suddenly all the Digimon tensed up. Something big was here. Cyberdramon ran to Ryo, picked him up, and flew away without a word. Ruki's cellphone rang and she picked up.

"Ruki, it's Yamaki," the voice on the other line said. "Something huge is here, but it didn't biomerge. We have no idea how it got here. Shibumi looks kind of triumphant though. Either way, be careful."

"Got it," Ruki replied. She stared at the rest of the group. "Something big is here, so let's kick its ass back where it came from! Renamon!" The fox materialized besides her. "We can't let Akiyama have all the fun. Let's go. **BIOMERGE ACTIVATE!"**

**BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION**

In mere seconds, Sakuyamon stood in front of them. She flew off. Takato blinked. "What just happened?" Everyone looked at each other confused, except for Impmon.

"A strong Digimon just arrived, Gogglehead." He shone.

**IMPMON WARP-DIGIVOLVE TO…BEELZEMON!**

The Biker Digimon stood in front of them. Suddenly, wings sprouted from his back and his eyes turned an emerald color as he changed into his Blast Mode. He charged off, but not before yelling. "Hurry up, bozos!"

"A strong Digimon has appeared, and it is unknown how it arrived," Lopmon summarized in her soft voice. Jenrya nodded.

"Could it be the Digimon from another dimension?" Kenta asked, shivering.

"Could be chumley, don't pee yourself though," Kazu cracked. Everyone could see the fear radiating off him though.

"Hirokazu, Kenta, stay here with Shiuchon and Juri. Protect them," Jenrya said. Terriermon grinned.

"We're gonna go kick some candy ass!" said the bunny-looking dog.

"_Terriermon."_

"What? The Rock deserves to get quoted!"

Jenrya sighed. "**BIOMERGE ACTIVATE!"**

**BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION**

MegaGargomon, the gigantic green robot, took off towards battle. Only Takato, Juri, Kazu, Kenta, Shuichon and the Digimon were left. Takato turned to the others. "Will you guys be okay?"

"Sure," Kazu said, but Takato noted the resentment in his voice.

"You wanted to fight, didn't you?" he asked the visor-wearing Tamer. Kazu sighed.

"A bit, yeah," he said. Takato offered him a comforting smile.

"I'll make sure you do next time," he told Kazu. He turned to Guilmon. "You ready, boy?"

"Yes," Guilmon growled. Suddenly his eyes weren't feral anymore. "Let me finish the peanut butter bread first." Takato facefaulted.

"Guilmon…what am I gonna do with you, boy?"

"I thought we were going to biomerge, Takato."

"Never mind," Takato mumbled with a chuckle. "**BIOMERGE ACTIVATE!"**

**BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION**

The magnificent Exalted Knight Digimon, Gallantmon, stood mightily in front of them "Be careful," he said in the dual voices of Takato and Guilmon. And then he was gone. Kazu sat on the ground.

"This sucks," he muttered. Shuichon looked at him and Kenta sat next to him.

"Me and you would be pretty useless in that fight. MarineAngemon may be a Mega, but he's not a hybrid so he's not as strong," said the bespectacled boy. "Besides, since when do you wanna fight so much?"

"Since I started feeling like a useless sack of potatoes," Kazu replied dryly. "We barely do anything. What's the point of being a Tamer if all we do is sit back like idiots while everyone else fights? Don't get me wrong, I would never give up Guardromon. But I want to fight and protect people too."

Juri approached Kazu slowly. She looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry…for being such a burden," she said.

"No," Kazu said, horrified. "That's not what I meant at all!"

Juri finally picked up her head and she was smiling. "I know. I just wanted to see how you'd react!"

Kenta laughed while Kazu groaned.

Gallantmon caught up to the others quickly. They were standing in the middle of a clearing in the park. They all seemed anxious, eyes scanning everything. Gallantmon frowned. "Where is this enemy?" he asked.

Beelzemon responded with a finger, which he pointed towards a large portal. Beyond the portal there was a sea of black water. Gallantmon frowned again. _'Looks like the Dark Ocean. Creepy.'_

"The enemy arrived through that portal, but he seems to be gone. However, his scent is strong in this area, so he's here," Sakuyamon explained.

"We have to be careful," MegaGargomon added. He saw that all three of them were tense and then he did a double take. Three? "Where's Ryo and Cyberdramon?" Gallantmon asked.

"We think that the dragon fought with whatever the hell came out of that portal, so wherever our enemy is, those two can't be far behind," Beelzemon said.

"**It smells like Justimon," **Guilmon told Takato inside of Gallantmon.

Suddenly, Justimon appeared through the trees, flying backwards. He crashed against the ground and was soon followed by a figure in a red robe. The newcomer spotted the four Digimon and upon seeing Beelzemon, he chuckled.

"So you've finally arrived, Beelzemon," he said. Beelzemon glared. This guy smelled oddly familiar.

"Daemon," Gallantmon said as he recognized the newcomer. Daemon merely ignored him.

"It has been a long time my friend," Daemon said to Beelzemon as Justimon began to get up. "Let us go, I have a mission for us."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Beelzemon said and took out his gun and trained it on Daemon. Daemon looked unaffected.

"Power-hungry, aren't we? Are these your lackeys?" Daemon asked, nodding his head towards the three Digimon with him and pointing at Justimon. "Disgusting hybrids are not worthy of serving a Demon Lord such as yourself, Beelzemon."

Justimon, who had finished getting up, looked at Beelzemon. _'It can't be!'_ Beelzemon was THE Beelzemon? The Demon Lord?

"What the hell are you talking about? What is this Demon Lord bullshit?" asked the biker. Daemon looked surprised for a second.

"Surely you remember?" Daemon asked. He looked at Beelzemon's eyes and the glare he was receiving. "You don't remember!" Daemon let out a snicker, which soon turned into laughter.

Beelzemon growled and his finger twitched as he was sorely tempted to blow Daemon's brains out right there and then. However, he smelled so familiar, and something was stopping him from doing so.

Daemon soon finished laughing and looked at Beelzemon. "I pity you, my friend. You have lost your way, and you know hang around these repulsive…_things."_

"**Who are you calling things?" **growled MegaGargomon, in Terriermon's voice.

"I am not talking to you. Shut up," Daemon said coolly. "You," he said, turning to Beelzemon once again. "You have power beyond your wildest dreams, and I can feel the bloodthirst in you. You may not remember me, but I sense your hunger for power and your thirst for blood. You have not changed a bit, Beelzemon."

"I am getting _SICK_ of your voice. Either explain what the hell you're talking about or I'll kill you right now!" Beelzemon yelled. Daemon raised an eyebrow, although no one could see it.

"Perhaps the name Troymon rings a bell?"

Beelzemon froze. That name sounded so…powerful. So foreign, yet so familiar. A golden warrior trapped in dark water.

"DarkTroymon…" he whispered.

"I see you remember them both."

"Who are you," Beelzemon snarled. The single name had triggered so many memories that were begging to be let out. He had always wondered about his past, and this stranger seemed to have all the answers.

Daemon pointed at the portal, where the dark water rested. "Come with me…and I will explain all."

"NOW!" cried Gallantmon. Daemon whirled around and managed to stop Justimon's blade mere inches from his face. He twisted it and there was a sickening crack as Justimon let out a pained yell. The warrior was hurled by Daemon and he landed on his newly broken arm.

Gallantmon charged "Lightning Joust!" Daemon dodged the beam and punched Gallantmon, his hand ablaze with hellish blue flames. He dodged a swing from Sakuyamon and spread his wings.

"Evil Flapping!" A powerful gust sent her flying, but thin dark disks seemed to come out of his wings and sliced at the trees in the park. Sakuyamon tried to dodge them, but one clipped her on the side. Blood squirted out of her side and she fell to the ground with a thud. She glanced up. Daemon was busy with MegaGargomon. The green giant was heavy and made of metal, so the attack did not affect him at all.

"Power Pummel!" MegaGargomon's fist came crashing down onto Daemon, and the Demon Lord was sent downwards before smacking into the ground. He was up quickly and appeared in front of MegaGargomon's face, both arms outstretched and palms facing the warrior's face.

"Flame Inferno!" To MegaGargomon's surprise, one stream of fire was red while the other was blue. '_That's new,'_ he thought before the attack collided. He stumbled back and clutched at his face.

Beelzemon had not moved an inch. He didn't seem to be capable of such an act at the moment, and he didn't know why. The Tamers began to get up and were about to renew their attack when he heard himself speak. "Stop!" Everyone froze. Beelzemon looked at Daemon.

"I'm going with you."

Daemon looked surprised. "Is that so? Well that makes things a lot easier. Let's go."

"What are you doing?" Gallantmon asked Beelzemon. The biker suddenly turned his head and aimed his gun at Gallantmon.

"I got some questions that only this guy can answer. Don't interfere or I'll blow your brains out. I mean it," growled the Demon Lord.

The others looked at him in surprise and Justimon growled. "You have no idea what this guy is. Don't associate yourself with him." Daemon looked at him.

"I'm getting sick of you," said the demon before flying right up to him and punching him squarely in the nose with a flaming hand. Justimon was so startled by the sudden move that he was sent backwards and split into Justimon and Ryo, the latter whose arm was bent at an unnatural angle. However, this left Daemon wide open and he would have been attacked at full force had Beelzemon not fired a shot that missed Sakuyamon's head by an inch.

This act seemed to freeze everyone in his or her spot. Beelzemon kept his gun trained on his team as he approached the portal. His eyes locked with Daemon's, and the Digimon nodded. Beelzemon stepped through the portal and Daemon followed. The portal immediately began closing at a rapid pace. Gallantmon tried to reach it but had to swerve out of the way to dodge one of Beelzemon's bullets. Beelzemon's eyes betrayed no emotions at the look of betrayal on everyone's faces.

As the portal finally closed Beelzemon closed his eyes. _'I'm sorry.'_

**Thunder Town Entrance Gate, Digital World. 7:00 P.M.**

Veemon looked down at the curving path that merged into the woods outside of Thunder Town. He had woken up in the local inn after his loss in the tournament. Hearing that the Finals hadn't started yet, he had gone to see the winner. It had been Gorillamon versus a Seadramon, who immediately started the fight by filling up the whole coliseum with water. The water had prevented people from seeing what happened between the two contestants as Seadramon dragged Gorillamon underwater, but after a bright flash the ape had somehow resurfaced with an unconscious Seadramon in his arms.

Gorillamon had been crowned champion and had immediately challenged anyone in the crowd for the title. Veemon had been about to take that challenge, itching for a rematch, when an Angemon had accepted it and after a rather short fight had been crowned champion. Veemon had recognized Angemon to be Takeru's partner. He had hoped to talk to his former teammate but wasn't able to reach him through the crowd.

Veemon looked towards the path and started walking when a voice stopped him. "Hey! Veemon!" Veemon turned around to see Patamon flying towards him. "How ya been?"

"I've been great! It's been a long time, Patamon," replied the cheery blue creature. "How are the others?"

Patamon shrugged. "The last person I've seen was Gatomon a couple of weeks ago. She seems to be doing fine. She's been going out with another Gatomon. Our Gatomon having a relationship? I though I'd never see the day!" Patamon chuckled. Veemon looked downcast for a moment but quickly covered it up with a smile.

"I'm glad she's doing fine," he said sincerely. Patamon nodded and began humming happily. "By the way, congratulations on your win."

Patamon grinned. "Thanks! I already deposited the money," he added. Veemon felt a stab of jealousy. He should have won that fight against Gorillamon but something had distracted him. The worst thing is that he didn't remembered what had startled him so much.

"Yeah, just don't waste it stupidly," Veemon said.

"I'm not you, old pal."

Veemon chuckled. "True."

"By the way, you seemed caught off-guard when you charged up your laser in that one match. What happened?" inquired the Digimon of Hope. Veemon shrugged.

"I honestly don't remember."

Patamon sniggered. "He must have hit your pretty hard then. Although I don't blame him," said the flying pig. Veemon looked offended and Patamon continued. "I mean, you totally humiliated him the way you attacked him. He must have been seeing red," laughed the little Digimon.

Something seemed to click in Veemon's mind. _'Red? Daemon!'_ Remembering the events that had transpired earlier, he felt terror grip him. The two Digimon had by now entered the forest and continued to walk down the path.

"Hey Patamon! I remember what happened. I saw-" he was cut off when a figure appeared in front of them.

It looked humanoid, except for the fact one arm was metallic. He wore a black jacket with a white undershirt. His pants were also black with chains on them. The figure grinned at the two Rookies.

"Hi there," he said maliciously. Veemon and Patamon tensed up. There was something weird about this guy.

All three Digimon just stood there, as if waiting for something. The forest was thick, blocking out the sun and making everything dark. There was very little room to maneuver if it came down to a fight. Suddenly, the newcomer spoke. "You guys gonna start this party or should I?" The two Rookies got ready.

**Veemon Digivolve to……ExVeemon! **

**Patamon Digivolve to……Angemon!**

ExVeemon made the first move, charging forward with his fist ready. Before he could connect, the enemy grabbed his wrist and whirled him around before letting go. ExVeemon was sent crashing through the trees. Angemon decided to make his move, whipping out his Angel Rod and aiming a powerful strike at the back of the newcomer's head. Suddenly, the newcomer whipped out his sword and parried the blow without turning around. Angemon's eyes widened. _'So fast!'_

"So you're the great Angemon?" asked his enemy. "Seems all the hype about you was just garbage." In one fluid movement, he grabbed Angemon's Rod and turned around, delivering a knee to the angel's stomach. Angemon bent over and was met with the end of his Angel Rod striking his chin, causing him to see stars. His head snapped backwards and a fist collided with his cheek, sending him to the ground.

Trying to clear his vision, Angemon saw the dark Digimon examine his staff. "Who are you?" he asked. The Digimon grinned before snapping the Angel Rod with his hands, much to its owner's shock.

"I am DarkTroymon." The name registered in Angemon's mind as terror gripped him. _'No. It can't be!'_

"V-LASER!" DarkTroymon did not see the attack coming and it struck his back at full force, sending him forward. He flew through the air and smacked into a tree, breaking it. The trees around him also broke, falling in a heap over him.

Angemon looked at ExVeemon's extended hand and he took it, helping himself up. "We have to go. Now." ExVeemon looked confused.

"Why? I just trashed that guy," replied the blue Digimon. Angemon shook his head.

"You don't understand. That's DarkTroymon," he said. ExVeemon's faced remained blank and it was then that Angemon remembered that his friend had only been born a few years ago. "Listen, we are no match for that guy. MagnaAngemon isn't a match either, and neither is Imperialdramon. Only Paladin Mode would stand a chance, and even then he'd lose."

ExVeemon looked at the pile of trees. "I think you're overreacting. He's dead." Suddenly, the trees were sent flying and DarkTroymon emerged form the rubble, unscathed. He cracked his neck.

"Lucky shot." He ran up to ExVeemon and punched him with his metallic arm. The Dragon was sent flying once again but managed to steady himself using his wings. DarkTroymon turned around, sword in hand. Angemon barely dodged his strike and tried a punch of his own, which was dodged with ease. DarkTroymon leaped up in the air and avoided ExVeemon, who had been charging towards him. ExVeemon tried to stop himself when he realized he was going to crash into Angemon but it was too late. The two Champions fell to the ground. ExVeemon got up and turned around only to be sliced by a flick of DarkTroymon's sword. It sliced his chest from the left hip to the right shoulder. It wasn't too deep, but it still hurt. DarkTroymon licked the blood off his sword as ExVeemon staggered backwards before falling to the ground. He struggled to get up as his chest burned.

'_He's not aiming to kill. He's just toying with us,'_ realized the Digimon of Courage and Friendship. Angemon had by now gotten up and charged up holy energy in his fist. "HAND OF FATE!" He released his attack, expecting the blast to at least make some damage, but it was merely brushed aside by the demonic Mega.

"It packed more punch than that lizard's ray, but I actually saw it coming," said DarkTroymon. "Try this on for size!" Angemon felt the temperature drop and felt a chill run down his spine as DarkTroymon's blade began to shine purple. The powerhouse swung the blade and a purple energy wave was sent out. "Darkside Slash!" The attack slammed into Angemon and the last thing the Champion thought before unconsciousness claimed him was _'Takeru…'_ He reverted back to Patamon and slumped to the ground, unconscious. DarkTroymon smiled but ExVeemon gave an enraged howl and tried to land a kick. DarkTroymon grabbed his leg and held it there as he laughed.

"How pathetic! These are supposed to be the partners of the Digidestined?" taunted the Mega. He prepared to throw ExVeemon when he felt a sudden spark of energy and two auras, one in which he had not felt in a long time. _'He's back. And he managed to bring Beelz with him.'_ This distraction caused him as ExVeemon twisted and landed a punch on his face. He felt no pain, only surprise. He suddenly grinned at the Digimon he still held and put an iron grip on his leg.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to cut this short. However," he said, leaving it at that. He threw ExVeemon with all his strength and the blue Digimon was sent flying faster than he could have ever imagined. DarkTroymon suddenly appeared behind him, one of his fingers glowing a light purple. He touched the back of his ExVeemon's neck and the dragon felt a pain unlike anything he had ever felt before. DarkTroymon disappeared and ExVeemon slammed into a tree trunk and continued flying. He didn't know for how long or through how many trees he crashed. The pain in his neck was disorienting him completely. Finally he stopped and fell to the ground. He dedigivolved as soon as he made contact with the earth.

Standing up on shaky legs, Veemon walked up to the unconscious Patamon and picked him up before making his way back to Thunder Town, humiliated at his total defeat.

**Dark Ocean, Digital Word. 8:00 PM**

Beelzemon took a look at his surroundings. He was in a beach with an ocean of endless darkness. The sand at his feet was a lifeless gray. Just being in this area gave him a bone-chilling feeling of dread. It felt so familiar, almost like home. He looked at the Digimon before him.

Daemon turned around. "Remember this place? The Guardians sealed us here a long time ago. This is where you fell in battle, old friend." Daemon scanned Beelzemon's features, but the biker seemed confused. Daemon sighed and began his tale. The tale of the Demon Lords and of the Final battle. He retold the story of Troymon and the treachery of the Demon Lords. When he was finished, Beelzemon seemed deep in thought.

"I honestly don't remember any of this shit so I guess you must be lying," he said as he began to draw his gun. Daemon's eyes narrowed. Before anything else happened a portal ripped open and DarkTroymon stepped in.

"Yo."

Beelzemon stared at the newcomer and suddenly everything clicked into place. He remembered. He remembered everything.

DarkTroymon smirked. "Hey Beelz, long time no see."

"So I'm guessing you won the war in this dimension," asked the demonic biker.

"Quite the contrary. It ended in a draw of sorts. But that doesn't matter," replied the infamous Digimon. He looked at Daemon. "The Digidestined should be arriving soon."

Daemon's eyes widened in shock. "How?"

"I created a way to get past those barriers. Quite simple actually."

"What?"

"The bond between Digidestined and partner."

"Huh?" asked the confused Demon Lord. Beelzemon merely listened.

DarkTroymon beckoned them towards the ocean. He waved his hand over a portion of the water, and suddenly a small blue Digimon carrying an orange pig was staring back at them. DarkTroymon smirked. "Watch and learn." His finger shone purple and he put it in the water. The next scene was interesting to say the least.

The small blue Digimon suddenly fell to the ground, screaming in pain and clutching at the back of his neck He was crying someone's name out for help. Davis, realized Daemon after looking at the Digimon's lips. Small lightning bolts escaped him as he struggled to get up. His frantic cries awoke the flying pig, who rushed to his partner's side after clearing his vision.

DarkTroymon removed his finger from the water and the scene faded away, returning the water to its dark, sinister state. The two Demon Lords stared at DarkTroymon as he grinned.

"What the hell did that even accomplish?" asked Beelzemon.

"Oh, you'll see."

**Motomiya Residence, Odaiba. 8:30 PM**

Daisuke yawned as he lay on his bed. The day had been an average one, with nothing too exciting going on. After school he had played soccer with Tai, who was teaching Daisuke some of his more effective plays. Taichi had even called him his protégé, something that filled Daisuke with pride.

"_Gotta teach someone all my original plays and moves, ya know? And who else than my protégé deserves that honor?" _Those were the words of the Child of Courage, who had proceeded to laugh at Daisuke's shocked face.

Scratch what he said earlier. Today had been a good day.

Daisuke once again yawned. He was exhausted. Reaching over, he set his alarm for the next day and was about to change into his pajamas when a shrill noise filled his room. Startled, he looked towards the source of the noise. It was his D3, and it was vibrating as it gave out the loud noise. He ran to it and picked it up, his eyes widening in horror as he realized what it was. The word 'help' was flashing on the screen. '_Veemon!'_

He bolted, walking up to his computer on instinct, but remembered that it was broken. Cursing loudly, he tried to remember the closest computer. His computer was the only one in the house, and he couldn't just barge into his neighbor's room and demand a computer. Hikari lived closest to him, but she and Taichi were out with the family. Ken was out of the question. He lived in Tamachi. Putting on his shoes, he bolted out his room and crashed into Jun.

"Watch where you're going!" she cried. She noticed his panicked face and his screaming D3. "What's going on?"

Daisuke ran past her. "Emergency! Digiworld! Cover for me!"

He was gone in a second, leaving behind a very worried Jun. Daisuke ran out of his apartment and down the stairs as the vibration of the D3 became more intense and the sound became louder. It only caused him to panic even more. _'Just hang on Veemon,'_ he thought. Jumping over the last set of stairs, he hit the pavement and headed towards the apartment building that housed Miyako, Takeru, and Iori.

He pulled out his D-Terminal and sent a message to the three of them.

_Veemon's in trouble! I need your computer!_

He continued to run until his D-Terminal beeped. He had three new messages.

_Sorry Daisuke, my parents are not home and I'm stuck in the store because the apartment is locked. And I can't get out of my shift. What's going on?_

_-Miyako_

_Daisuke, I'm not home. I'm at a Kendo convention and it ran late. Tell me if you have any luck and keep me updated on Veemon. What's wrong with him?_

_-Iori_

_Hurry and come over!_

_-Takeru_

He found Takeru's response odd, but heaved a sigh of relief as he reached the building and went up the stairs. Arriving at Takeru's door, he knocked. Takeru quickly opened the door. He looked worried. "Come in, my mom's not home." Daisuke stepped inside and immediately noticed Takeru's D3. It was also vibrating and making a shrill noise, although not as loud as Daisuke's.

"You too?" asked the leader of the New Digidestined. His fellow Chosen nodded.

"It just started vibrating out of nowhere. I tried opening the Digiport, but it's sealed," said the Child of Hope. They walked to the computer, where the Digiport was displayed, and Daisuke pointed his D3 at the screen.

"DIGIPORT OPEN!"

Nothing happened. He tried again.

"I already tried. I sent messages to everyone to come here after I got yours," Takeru said. Daisuke's hand had by now grown numb as the vibrations increased in intensity.

"I can't wait!" he growled and tried again.

"Daisuke-"

"Takeru! Veemon is in huge trouble! I can sense it! I'm not waiting," he said.

"Patamon is in trouble too but we have to think about this rationally! I tried and you tried, but the port won't open because Gennai sealed it! Koushiro is the only one who stands a chance, so calm down!" Takeru responded. Daisuke whirled on him, furious.

"Does your D3 vibrate so strongly that you can't feel your hand? Are your eardrums bursting from this damn sound?"

"No, but-"

"THEN SHUT THE HELL UP!" roared Daisuke. Takeru winced and Daisuke realized how he was acting. He sighed.

"Look, 'keru, I'm sorry. I was being an ass," said the gogglehead.

"It's ok," responded the hat-wearing Chosen. Daisuke nodded but then he felt his D3 beginning to calm down. However, he felt no joy. He knew that the D3's signal was not fading because Veemon was out of danger.

"No, please no," he mumbled as he pointed at the screen.

"What's wrong?"

'_No. Don't die. Please don't die. Open the port. Please,' _thought Daisuke as he looked at the D3. _'I'm begging you, just open the port, please.'_

"_**DIGIPORT OPEN!"**_

The screen burst into the familiar white blue light and it engulfed Daisuke. Takeru stared in shock before grabbing his own D3 and pointing it at the screen. The light enveloped him two, and they felt the familiar sensation of being downloaded. The screen shut off and the apartment was quiet, as though no one had been there at all.

Both teens were gone.

* * *

A/N: I deeply apologized for the tardiness. I have no valid excuse except for the fact that I was completely lazy. Also, the actions scenes are horrible, but I didn't put much time into them because they aren't that important in the grand scheme of things. I've never written a full-blown fight scene so when the time comes(which will be next chapter or the one after that) it won't completely and utterly blow. Thanks for reading, and please review. 


	5. Explanations

Hello, anyone that reads this.

As you can see, DC has not been updated in nearly 3 years. Here's the reason.

Digital Chasers started when I was young. Around the time "Channel Chasers," the Fairly Oddparents movie, came out. I was 12 at the time. Excited, I came up with an idea where my favorite character Davis would travel with TK, who he didn't like, and they would travel to different worlds trying to stop DarkTroymon, my own made up creation who was essentially an overpowered Beelzemon rip-off whose name makes no sense.

I had many plans:

-Resurrection of the Dark Masters

-Daemon as a villain

-Another new villain, the Dark Dragon, an evil entity

-Corrupted Crests (Courage=Cowardice, Kindness=Cruelty, Light=Darkness, etc.)

I planned for Davis and TK to get magical weapons so they could fight alongside their Mons. It was a huge fantasy for a twelve-year old. Much too big, and I lacked the writing ability and right mindset at the time. I stuffed worlds without knowing anything about them (I included Star Wars despite only seeing 'The Phantom Menace' and half of 'Attack of The Clones') and ended up asking my own reviewers about the worlds I was writing about.

Eventually, I grew bored and quit. I had plans for sequels, where Puppetmon, the only surviving Dark Master, would abosrb the power of the Dark Crests and the Dragon to become ChaosPuppetmon. But it wasn't enough to keep my interest.

Fastforward to 2006. I watched the dubbed Digimon movies (Revenge of Diaboromon, Locomon,etc.) and my interest was re-sparked, as I had only been keeping up with Digimon through Ultra Sonic 007's Digimon series.

I scrapped most of my ideas, kept DarkTroymon, and began to write. No plan, no nothing. It worked fine at first, but once again I lost my passion.

This time, I know what I want to do. No DarkTroymon. I'll simply stick with my favorite baddie, Daemon, and one or two surprise antagonists. I have a plan, but this time I want to do it right. I'm going to sit down and take notes, write chapters, rewrite chapters, rewrite the rewrites, proof-read it, and so on. I'm currently working on a series of Davis stories, the 'Bonding' series, in which Davis bonds with each of the Digidestined and Jun. It's coming along, but I have limited time. Senior year, and college soon after.

So I will plan my new story as I write this light-hearted series. I'll get it right this time. Characterizations will be a problem since I have not time to sit down and rewatch old Digimon seasons, so I'll work from memory and what I've read on this site...

So if you're still reading this, thank you for reading my stories and enjoying them. I'll be back, hopefully between the next year or two, with Digital Chasers Version 3. Not that it'll be called Digital Chasers.

I'll keep this up until the new story is posted online, whenever that is.

Once again, thank you.

See you soon.

PS. I've now watched the entirety of Star Wars, in case someone asks.

PSS. New chapter was supposed to contain Beelzemon vs. Daemon, Genna's death, and BlackAgumon's first trial.

PSSS. Got any ideas to share? Any comments? Message me! I'm all ears.


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